Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance
by isumi 'kivic
Summary: A hundred years after the chosen children's deaths, an immortal Kouichi began a chase of his past, as he guided the new chosen ones to solve a new problem. The resemblance was uncanny, though. Sequel of Gemini Star01's The Last. Brotherly love Kou1 2.
1. Prologue

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love (), slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. OCs in later chapters, but I hope that wouldn't hinder you from reading. I tried my best.

Rating: Gen, I think.

Warning: Un-beta-ed, grammar mistakes (English isn't my native language), and, might, uh, borders a tiny little bit on twincest if you squint really really hard with the help of magnifying glass. I can't help myself sometimes, but I swear I'm trying my hardest not to let this turn that way since this is rated Gen, so.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

A/N: This is something that came out of the blue after I read The Last by Gemini Star01 for the… umpteenth time. After doing some brainstorming, I dared to ask her if she'd mind if I write a sequel out of it, and tadah! The result is this fic. I hope you find it enjoyable, though my writing skill is far from Gemini Star01's, ahaha.

Also, I'm using the Japanese version of the names, since I'm more familiar with them. (When Frontier aired in my country almost ten years ago, they used the Japanese version of the names, so.)

Enjoy! Leaving reviews afterward would be great!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Prologue**

_The train was moving a tad bit too slow to his liking, but he didn't mind at all. It gave him more time to think, amidst the white noise of the other passengers stepping in and out, the swish of the automatic door, and clear 'ding' that sounded whenever the train reached another station._

I'm dreaming… aren't I?

_He held the small box in his left hand carefully; it wouldn't do to ruin the pie his mother had given so much effort into making before it could be eaten in celebration of his birthday. Yes, his birthday. A birthday that he shared with another two-hundred-thousand-something others around the world, but only one out of them that really mattered. A small, rare smile tugged on the corners of his lips as something in his chest leapt in eagerness. It had been too long since the two of them last met, and he could barely wait to see—_

Who? Who is it that I want to meet…?

_His thoughts ran astray as his eyes watched the blurring view of the city. How many times had he passed this very same view a few months back; enduring endless transfers of trains in order to reach the hospital just so he could visit someone most important. It was funny, comparing himself now with the person he used to be back then. He used to believe that everyone was alone, that in the end, everyone was strangers to each other. But now… he almost found it difficult to believe that he really thought that way._

_It was their first birthday together; their first time of celebrating it together, just the two of them, and he was really looking forward to it._

…whose birthday…?

_He'd never wanted to have siblings, before, so it should be strange that he could so easily believe it when a brother appeared out of the blue, shouldn't it? The smallest of laughter escaped him upon remembering how hard it was attempting to talk to his brother; not knowing what and how to talk to him properly. Thankfully they managed to overcome the gap eventually, even if it had to involve several painful events he internally swore would never happen again. And really, it was almost unbelievable that nowadays the two of them talked through the phone every single day. That whenever anything interesting happened in his daily life, the first person he wanted to tell was none other than his brother._

_But it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. He wanted to see his brother, to see those eyes so identical to his own, to watch those lips pulled into a gentle smile for him and only him. He wanted to know his brother better, to be able to know what was in each other's mind every time—a telepathic link, maybe, just like those pair of twins he had watched on a variety program on TV the other day. He wondered if Kouichi had watched the program, too. It'd be wonderful, wouldn't it, to have some sort of unbreakable link with his brother? Then he wouldn't have had to be so worried about what kind of present to get his brother for their birthday. He'd known right away what his brother would want for presents._

But I don't have siblings. I did—but not like this… I'm dreaming, aren't I? There's no way…

_Presents. He looked down at the box in his hand, and chuckled a little. In the end, this was the only thing he could think of. His stepmother's best apple pie—his brother would like it. He didn't know if his brother's Mom could make apple pies, too, but that was okay, he'd find out some other time. Besides, his brother's Mom—their birth Mother, who gave them life this very day twelve years ago—was always so busy working, she probably didn't have enough time to make pies. Work was tough for her, and it made his brother endlessly worried about her, and that got him worried, too. He hated being an elementary school students, sometimes. He wished he was an adult, so he could help support his brother and his Mom, and—_

_No. He shouldn't think about depressing stuff, it was their birthday after all._

This dream—why does it feel so familiar?

_His eyes moved up, idly catching sight of the moving clouds up on the blue, blue sky. What would happen, from now on? Where would life take them, and what would they be when they'd become adults? He'd always wanted to travel the world by himself, on his own. But that was before. Certainly he would be able to fend for himself if he were to travel the world on his own, but wouldn't it be much more fun there were two people travelling together instead? To see things together, laugh together, and talk about nothing as they circle the world? He wondered, now, if he asked his brother to come with him and travel the world together—just the two of them, really—what would his brother's face look like?_

_The train was lessening its pace. He straightened up, listening to the train's arrival announcement as the train slowly slid into stop. Something in his chest jumped up and down in anticipation—it wouldn't take long now. They would meet, and celebrate their birthday together._

_What should he say, when he saw his brother? Happy birthday—now that wasn't very exciting._

_Ah. He knew._

**-o0o-**

The elevator stopped with a resounding 'ding', and Kouichi hesitantly stepped out and into Shibuya Station. People swarmed all around him—each and everyone's steps hitting the floor in hurried motions, leaving no place for the slower ones. Kouichi winced; it had been too long since the last time he faced a crowd like this, saying that he was unaccustomed to it would be an understatement of the year. The Digital World, when in peace, had this languid pace that made him feel the closest to content.

He swallowed a lump of panic that was lodged in his throat, taking a deep breath, before stepping forward to mingle with the crowd.

The real world, he noticed once he fell into the rhythm of Tokyo's rush hour, had changed a lot since the last time he was here. How many years had it been, since he decided to come back and stay in the Digital World, after nothing was left for him? No family, no friends, no one precious enough to keep him there—he bit back a bitter laugh at the memories that tugged at his mind with every step he took. He looked up at the new skyscrapers building, at the tall rails hanging between the buildings. The subways weren't underground anymore, they were up there, running between buildings that reached the blue sky. It reminded him of the Trailmon's rails; the one that stretched from the Digital World to one of its three moons.

There were no billboards; simply three-dimensional holograms blaring out advertisements for countless products, with celebrities whose faces he'd never seen winking and smiling down at the people rushing around. Stairs were gone, replaced by a smooth-moving escalator. Kouichi was somewhat reminded of the science-fiction movies he used to watch with Kouji on Saturday nights, a long time ago. The real world—or Tokyo, at least, since it was where he was—had changed a lot. Maybe he had been gone to the Digital World for far too long.

Not that it mattered, to him.

**-o0o-**

"We have to choose new children," Ophanimon carefully said, gentle eyes boring into Kouichi's dark ones. "But the Spirit of Darkness is still yours, Kouichi. If you wish…"

She didn't finished, there was no need to. Kouichi uncomfortably shifted on his seat, glancing from the corner of his eyes where Bokomon stood next to Seraphimon, and bit his lips. He didn't want to be separated by Lowemon—not after spending countless years with the gentle Warrior of Darkness. But now that the two worlds were once again in danger, they would need the ten Legendary Warriors to turn back into spirits, joining forces with the strong-willed, chosen children, and unless he accepted Ophanimon's offer to wield the Spirit of Darkness once again, he would have to let Lowemon go to the hands of another child.

He didn't want that. But he didn't want anything to do with the real world ever again, either.

"We don't have much time. It'd be faster to have someone deliver the Spirits to them instead of waiting for them to reach for the Spirit." Seraphimon added softly. "More and more Digimons are breaking through the barrier to the real world, and we don't want them to be killed there. Their data would go nowhere and it's questionable whether they would return as Digitama. But if the chosen children could scan them, the digivice would return their data here, where they shall be safely reborn."

Silence, once more. Kouichi heard what Seraphimon didn't say: _It's alright if you don't want to wield the spirit, but we would have to give it away to another wielder._

There was a gentle clearing of throat, and Kouichi looked up, finding himself staring at Cherubimon's dark eyes. The Great Angel of the Beast seemed to be hesitating a little—a habit he'd never quite gotten rid of, a proof that he would forever feel guilty for what he had put Kouichi through years ago. Cherubimon looked at him—still with those half-sad eyes that Kouichi thought sometimes were begging for forgiveness, even though Kouichi never really blamed him.

"We don't want to force you into anything, Kouichi," the beast Digimon told him softly. "But it would be a great help. There would be no need to tell the new children of your past. We'll keep it secret, if you want." Cherubimon hesitated again, glancing at the two other Angel-type Digimons, before gesturing at Bokomon. "The new children—they would need some sort of… mentor. Help them figure out things, so to speak."

Bokomon stepped up, unfalteringly looking at Kouichi with hopeful eyes. He handed Kouichi a glowing parchment, and said in a very rare tone of seriousness. "But in the end, it is your choice, Kouichi-han."

Kouichi gave him a genuine smile—Bokomon had always been some sort of mentor himself for him and the others. Though admittedly, it was still somewhat odd to hear Seraphimon referring to the small Digimon as "Chichi-Hahaue". He took the glowing parchment into his hand, and unrolled it open.

It was the List. A short one, but filled with names he was unfamiliar with, those whom the Angels judged possible to wield the Spirits effectively. He noticed his name was under the caption of Spirit of Darkness, along with three other names (one of them was a girl's, too), and felt the resistance in his chest well up. He didn't want to give Lowemon away. Perhaps it was his selfishness talking, but the Spirit of Darkness had been his—Lowemon had been his own alter-ego, they had gone through so many things together and—

His eyes landed on the list of the possible wielders of the Spirit of Light. A very short one, only two names listed, but one of them jumped at him like none others did.

Kouji.

Fate might be laughing at him, right now, but all he could do was bite his lower lip, looking up again to meet the Angels' eyes, and nodded.

"I'll do it," he said quietly. "I'll wield it again—the Spirit of Darkness."

Ophanimon smiled down at him. "You are a very brave person, Kouichi. You've gone through so many painful things, and there will be more coming if you choose to fight. Thank you." Her hand touched the top of his head gently. "We owe you the existence of our world."

Later on, when he came back to the Venus' Rose Castle, Lowemon greeted him with a gentle hug and an endless, grateful "Thank you". Kouichi wondered if he had made the right decision, but there was no chance to have a long and thorough talk with Lowemon about his choice. Wolfmon dropped by the castle not long after, his navy blue and light beige scarf waving in the air as he swoop down to take Kouichi into a hug.

"Thank you," the Warrior of Light said earnestly. "For choosing to fight by our side, once again."

"We'll protect you. And the world you were born in." Lowemon swore.

The Angels gave a Calling, and Kouichi got to see the Ten Legendary Warriors gathered together for the last time, before the Angels turned them into Spirits. Five digivices appeared out of nowhere, floating before the Spirits of Fire, Wind, Thunder, Light and Ice. Another—a familiar one, colored in black and gray, that tugged at Kouichi's heart so strongly—appeared before him. As Kouichi closed his fingers on it, the Spirit of Darkness reacted.

There was a familiar presence at the back of Kouichi's mind once the digivice absorbed the Spirit; one he recognized as Lowemon. Then he looked up at the other five digivices—his whole body shaking as memories of those who had long been gone filled his mind—and knew that from now on, he would be chasing his past.

He tied Kouji's bandanna onto his arms, and left for the real world.

**-o0o-**

_The automatic door swished open, and he stepped off the train, instantly mingling with the crowd. His arms curled around the apple pie box protectively as his feet made confident strides towards the exit. With every step, the small smile on his lips grew, his chest barely containing the eagerness leaping up his throat._

_There. Right at the exit, a familiar figure stood waiting. Identical dark eyes met, and he found himself noticing the other's hair—colored in the same exact shade as his own—was longer than the last time he remembered seeing. The figure was holding a box of his own, face alight with a gentle smile that he knew reserved only for him._

_He stopped right in front of his brother, mirroring the grin._

"_Thank you…"_

_The words that tumbled out of their mouths were exactly the same._

"… _for being born with me."_

Kouji woke up to the white ceiling—eyes wide and chest tight with indescribable emotions.

**-o0oprologueendso0o-**

A/N: I hope the setting's clear enough, for now. :] I'll be adding more backgrounds to the new crisis as the story goes on. This prologue is loosely based on the last scene of The Last, which, once again, is required for you to read before you read this thing. Also, the dream sequence Kouji was having? It's loosely based on the Digimon Frontier Drama CD: Tsutaetai koto; taken from Kouji's part that's titled "Kouji kara, Kouichi e" (From Kouji to Kouichi). I found a translation of it somewhere in the internet and copied it, but lost the link. You should be able to find it through Google-sama, though! The Drama CD was very heartwarming, really. Especially Kouji and Kouichi's monologues.

I figured Japan, as one of the most advanced countries in technology nowadays, would change a lot in a hundred years. I imagine that at least the city would at least be like Tiger & Bunny's Sternbild. You know, sky monorail and all. Ahaha.

Reviews are always welcomed. I ignore flames, by the way :p


	2. A Restart Line

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love (it might, uh, borders a tiny little bit on twincest if you squint really really hard with the help of magnifying glass, I can't help myself sometimes), slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. OCs in later chapters, but I hope that wouldn't hinder you from reading. I tried my best.

Rating: Gen, I think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

A/N: Just to clarify things, in The Last Gemini Star01 wrote that when Kouichi first came back to the Digital World, he was once again eleven years old. According to that, then in this fic, too, Kouichi is eleven years old physically, even though technically he'd lived for more than a hundred years so mentally and psychologically he would be more mature than the other eleven years old kids. :D

And another thing: I do intend this fic to be centered around Kouji and Kouichi, but it's also necessary for me to delve into the story of the rest of the new chosen children. First, it's for the sake of characterization and character-growth. Second, because their story always had something to do with Kouji and Kouichi, directly and indirectly, I swear. I'll try my best to bring out the best in those OCs so you guys would come to like them, too. :D

Onward with the fic, then. Meet the new chosen children!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Chapter One: A Restart Line**

It took him almost half an hour to figure out how the new sky monorail works.

Flipping the small card he'd gotten from one of the booths at the Shibuya Station in his hand, he followed a line, placing the card on a small scanner before stepping into another elevator that would take him up to the monorail station. If there was one thing that hadn't changed at all from Tokyo after all this time, it would be its crazy rush hour. Working adults, as well as students who had just let out from extra classes or other extracurricular activities all cramped in the spacious elevator; giggling high school girls in one corner a contrast of a serious-looking office worker in another, while a loudly crying baby was cuddled by its flustered-looking Mother. There were several younger children, too: an elementary school kid wearing a soccer team uniform, a group of junior high school children talking loudly about exams and damning teachers.

For a moment, Kouichi felt so tired and old. How many years had he lived? He'd gone through junior high and high school, gone through college and work, through the phases where little children called him Uncle Kou. Yet, here he was, standing alone amongst strangers with the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy once again.

Outside, the sun was setting, painting the sky with streaks of red, orange and yellow against the blue autumn sky. He found himself unable to take his gaze away from it once he's out of the elevator, despite above his head, the speakers blared down an announcement that the next monorail would take off in a minute. He watched, transfixed, as people's shadows danced on the floor, joining each other and separating fluidly. It surprised him when the thought of just how beautiful everything was registered in his mind. The real world had always held a different beauty from the Digital World; he'd managed to forget that, being away for so long.

Just then, he felt something bumped into his back.

Losing his balance, Kouichi flailed for a second and reflexively held on to the nearest object available—which unfortunately gave a surprised yelp as he took it down. Gravity did the rest; Kouichi found himself face flat against the hard floor, with the weight of another human being preventing the upper half of his body to move. There was a strangled, very feminine gasp and another rough, boyish voice groaning from somewhere above him.

"What the—" the boyish voice moved, as well as the weight keeping him down. Kouichi gave a groan himself, shoulders aching almost instantly as he shifted into a sitting position. He rubbed the side of his head gingerly, before realizing that the previous feminine voice had broken into blabbering apology.

"Hey, hey, girl, take a breath," that's the boyish voice again and this time Kouichi opened his eyes, turning sideways. Next to him was a brunette, clad in a black shirt and red jacket complementing his brown shorts, with a pair of goggles dangling around his neck, sprawling on the floor with a sheepish grin on his face. The boy winced once, rubbing his elbows and eyeing Kouichi curiously. "You okay there, dude?"

"Y-yeah," Kouichi muttered, his eyes locked onto the kid's goggles for a second. Then he averted his eyes down, shaking his head at the memories of a familiar brunette whose presence and eyes were as bright as a fire. "Sorry—I was trying to hold on to something and…"

"No worries, my bag was the closest one, huh?" the boy laughed. "I wasn't paying attention myself."

Kouichi shifted again, rubbing his shoulder this time and turned back to see what—or who—exactly had bumped him in the first place. His eyes found a figure of a girl on her knees before him; round blue eyes filled with panic and a worried, guilty face framed by shoulder-length, straight blonde hair. A wave of nostalgia swept over him again; this time of a blonde girl whose smile was freer than the wind itself.

"I-I'm sorry, really, I wasn't looking! I didn't mean to…" the girl stammered, looking as if she was about to break into tears any time. Kouichi stiffened a little at that—judging by the wet splotches on her cheeks, she was probably crying before she bumped him. Damn, he was never good facing a crying girl.

"No.. I was daydreaming myself. It's—not your fault." He brought himself up on his feet, and extended a hand. "Could you stand? We're going to miss the train."

"He's right," the boy piped up, gesturing to the monorail. "It's about to take off, we've got to hurry now!"

The blonde girl seemed to be looking at Kouichi's outstretched hand hesitatingly, biting her lips before taking the offered limb and pulled herself up. Kouichi gave her a soft smile, and she ducked her head down as the faintest shade of red quickly colored her cheeks. A shy girl, Kouichi thought, and wondered why in the first place this girl reminded him of his late friend—the one he dated once just to find out that not only his feelings for her wasn't love, but also that she wasn't meant for him from the very beginning.

Izumi was always Takuya's girl, through and through.

"Are you guys coming or not?"

The brunette's voice snapped him out of his reverie. Kouichi let go of the girl's hand, his head motioning for her to go ahead. The three of them managed to board the monorail at the very last second—Kouichi was the last, and as the door swished closed behind him, the three of them let out a relieved sigh.

"We made it," the brunette boy sagged onto the monorail door, ignoring the warning that beeped over their heads, a line of _dear passengers, please do not lean onto the door, thank you_. Several other passengers turned towards them at the beeping warning, and Kouichi watched, amused, as the girl hastily yanked the boy's arm to pull him away from the door to make the warning stop.

"Barely, right?" Kouichi replied, still smiling. The girl nodded, hesitated for a second, and then broke into a low bow. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier, really!"

"Again with the apologies?" the brunette laughed, but his eyes shone with interest. Kouichi didn't think anything of it, though. Instead, he put up his hands and shook his head.

"I really should be the one apologizing, for standing right there and daydreaming even though it is rush hour and all. Please, it's really alright." It wasn't like he was going to hold it against the girl, though. He had been at fault, too—had forgotten completely where he was and standing in people's way. And if this girl had really been crying before bumping into him, then it was understandable that she hadn't been looking at what was in front of her well, wasn't it?

The unknown brunette shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Come on, enough with the apologies already!" The protest that came out sounded like a whine, and Kouichi couldn't help but chuckle at that. It brightened the mood somewhat, as the girl followed and let out a laugh of hers as well. For a short while, the three of them were content to let the laugh filled the spaces between them, until the brunette sobered up, with a bright grin on his face.

"My name's Takuma. Kawabara Takuma," he offers, crossing his arms behind his head. "What's yours?"

Kouichi felt something in his chest leapt at the name—a bit too similar with the one he kept fondly in his memories. He turned to the girl, who looked much more relaxed now that they shared a laugh. She straightened up, the way only girls brought up in a well-off family did, and made a polite bow. "Yamamoto Suzumi," she said, her tone lighter than before.

It didn't help the weight that suddenly settled on Kouichi's heart, though. This time, not only because the name sounded too similar to Izumi's to his liking, but also because he noticed the name. Or rather, names—because Kawabara Takuma was one of the three names listed under the possible wielders of Spirit of Fire, and Yamamoto Suzumi was one out of other five listed under the possible wielders of Spirit of Wind. To have meet them so soon after he came back to the real world—was this a sign?

"Kimura… Kouichi." He said at least, catching the expectant gazes of both Kawabara and Yamamoto. "It's… nice to meet you, Kawabara-kun. Yamamoto-san."

Kawabara Takuma waves his hand lightly, as if swatting at the formality in Kouichi's tone. "Just Takuma's fine. I don't like the way my surname sounds."

As the three of them fell into an easy, mundane conversation, Kouichi found himself recalling the List Bokomon had shown him back in the Digital World. The Angels had given him the task to deliver the digivices and spirits to the new chosen children, but he had no idea which one of the children in the List he should give the spirits to. Bokomon had told him that the spirits would choose them, that they would react to the chosen children, and that Kouichi would know when to give the digivices. He hadn't been given more information, though, and to be honest, it was rather unnerving how the two possible wielders he'd met seemed to be a bit too similar to his old friends.

Out of desperation to seek for familiar comfort, he reached deep into himself to find Lowemon's presence. The Spirit of Darkness was quiet, but steady and real, comforting. Kouichi put a hand on Kouji's bandanna on his arm, fingering the slightly frayed edges absently. Kawabara was telling them a funny joke he'd gotten from his friend, and Yamamoto was laughing softly. He gave a chuckle, out of politeness, then looked up when the monorail slowly slid into a stop. They'd reached the next station. Realizing that they were still in front of the door, Kouichi quickly moved to the other side of the compartment. The other two followed him—there were no seat left, so they still had to stand.

"Hey, uh—sorry," another voice, this time from behind, made him turn. Another boy, this time with a bigger built, though obviously this one was made from muscles rather than fat, looked up to him with a straight gaze. There was something familiar in his gaze that made Kouichi nearly took a step back, earning him a curious glance, but the boy didn't stop from inquiring. "I kinda need to get to Kanagawa, but I'm not sure if I took the right monorail. Do you know if—"

"Ah!" Kawabara Takuma exclaimed in surprise, eyes glinting with recognition. "Kanpei-kun? You're Mashiba Kanpei, aren't you?"

Kouichi did take a step back this time. Yamamoto Suzumi raised her eyebrows, curious. The new boy—the so-called Mashiba Kanpei—gazed past Kouichi's shoulder. He stared at Kawabara Takuma for a moment, face scrunching up in an attempt to remember. The goy with goggles grinned, obviously trying not to laugh out loud at the face Mashiba Kanpei made. "It's Takuma! We met at the soccer mock tournament a few months ago, remember?"

Recognition dawning on his face, Mashiba broke into a wide grin. "Oh, yeah, Takuma-kun! Sorry, I almost forgot how you look like—it's been a long time, hahaha." The bigger-built boy scratched the back of his head and eyed Yamamoto and Kouichi curiously. "They're your friends?"

"We just met." Takuma shrugged. "This here's Yamamoto-san, and that's Kimura-kun." He gave a nod towards both Yamamoto, who gave a slight bow, and Kouichi, who gave a polite nod.

"Oh, hi. Name's Mashiba Kanpei, you heard him." Mashiba beamed, and then turned all-serious again. "Really, though, is this the right monorail to Kanagawa prefecture?"

"No it's not," Yamamoto answered with an air of amusement and Takuma laughed. "That's okay, Kanpei-kun. You can get off at the next station with me, and get on another train to Kanagawa."

Kouichi, now feeling rather uncomfortable, thinned his lips. Mashiba Kanpei—another name he recognized from the List, this time from under the possible wielders of the Spirit of Thunder. Surely this was a sign—or maybe this was how Fate was planning to play around with him again—it should be no coincidence that he already met three of the possible wielders not even an hour after he stepped out of the elevator in Shibuya Station. Surely—

As if answering his silent questions, the monorail suddenly screeched into a halt.

Surprised screams mingled with angry yelps, and all Kouichi could do was grab the nearest handle to prevent himself from falling. He managed to grab Yamamoto's arm, noticing that Takuma had scrambled to grab another handle, right at the time he felt Mashiba's weight smacked his side. He tumbled, barely registering the flickering lights in the compartment before the lights shut off altogether, and the compartment shook threateningly as something obviously hit the side of the monorail with a sickening crash.

More screams reverberated in his ears, that Kouichi nearly didn't hear the strangled gasp from under him. He'd fallen onto one of the people on the seats, and whoever it was, Kouichi must be bigger than him. Scrambling off and sliding onto the floor, he turned to look at the poor victim: a boy younger than him, slender and small-built, as terrified light green eyes met his dark blue ones.

"S-sorry—" was all he could say, before another impact shook the monorail again. Next to him, Yamamoto was screaming, and he was about to turn to calm her down when the boy before him grabbed his arm, looking horrified as his eyes stared past Kouichi's shoulders.

"What the hell is that!" Takuma hollered, right as another impact hit the compartment and they rode another wave of shaking. Something inside Kouichi's chest froze, as if knowing that this was probably a turning point, and slowly, he turned around to see what was hitting their compartment outside.

Through the window, he caught a sight of red, huge wings—and a glimpse of a familiar shape of a humongous flaming bird zooming away towards another compartment.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, and an involuntary gasp escaped him: "Birdramon….?"

**-o0o-**

"The spirits choose the wielders, Kouichi," Cherubimon laid one of his massive hand on his shoulder, though only his thumb managed to stay there. "Don't you worry about which children from the list would get the spirits."

His chest tightened. "Does that mean—there's a possibility that the spirit won't choose Kouji?"

"But Kouichi-han," Bokomon cut in before Cherubimon could even open his mouth. "You know that it couldn't be Kouji-han."

His eyes lingered on the List, once again trying to commit the names into his memories. There were only two names under the words Spirit of Light—only two candidates, and yet he fervently wished that the Spirit of Light would choose the one named Kouji. Something in his chest clenched. Bokomon was right, it couldn't be Kouji—couldn't be his Kouji. Kouji was dead, he left years ago and Kouichi couldn't ever follow him, couldn't ever see him again.

He was going to start a futile chase of his past. It was going to be painful, and despite knowing so, he couldn't bring himself to stop.

**-o0o-**

It took him a moment to realize that his digivice was shining.

Hands trembling, he took it out of his pockets. The people in their compartments were too distraught and panicked now to pay proper attention to what was the thing emitting lights in Kouichi's hands, but the children closest to him didn't miss it. Four pairs of different-colored eyes followed his hand, gazing at his digivice in dumbstruck confusion.

"K-Kimura-kun?" Yamamoto squeaked, and Kouichi could see Takuma and Mashiba's eyes widened dramatically. Kouichi stared at them, taking in their innocent stares, before turning back to the youngest between them. Giving the younger boy a soft smile, he murmured in a hushed voice, "What's your name?"

"M-me..?" the kid looked so scared, Kouichi almost didn't have the heart to hear the answer. "H-Himi—Himi Tokiya."

Ah. Kouichi closed his eyes, grasping his digivice tighter. Another name, this time under the list of possible wielders for the Spirit of Ice. Destiny, he figured, had its own way to create meetings and separations. He should know better—after all, what would he call his meeting with Kouji in the Digital World a long time ago, if it wasn't Destiny's doing? Before his eyes now were four candidates for the Spirits. There was a Birdramon outside, causing chaos and fear, and Kouichi would be damned if he didn't do anything.

This was why he came back to the real world, after all.

"This is going to sound crazy," Kouichi said; and just as the words left his mouth, his digivice shone brighter. Out of nowhere, four different-colored digivices appeared before the four children, floating gently in the air as if waiting to be held by their hands. Kouichi swallowed the lump in his throat again—he was giving his friends' spirits away. He felt like he had no right to do so—it was Takuya's, Izumi's Tomoki's and Junpei's digivices floating in front of his eyes, and he was giving them away because they weren't here. Not anymore.

"There's something outside," he continued, ignoring the wide-eyed confusion directed at him. There was no time, lest people would notice or the Birdramon outside would tear this monorail down and send all the people inside down to the ground. He would have to get them out and fighting quick. "And there's power inside these digivices—the only power to defeat that something outside. They've chosen you—the four of you. Only you guys would be able to reach them and wield this power." His gaze flicked towards the window, catching another glimpse of Birdramon before another impact hit the compartment. "We don't have much time, I'm afraid."

He took a breath, and let out his question—the question of Fate itself, a question that once had changed the lives of six other children: "What will you do? Will you fight? Or will you not?" (1)

He watched some sort of understanding dawned on the faces of these children, and wondered what kind of thoughts running through their heads right now. He didn't have the time to stay and find out, though. He had done what he had to, and there was a much more pressing matter outside, threatening everyone's lives. So he drew himself up, straightening his form, tightening his grip on his digivice. He'd have to break the monorail's door to get outside later, but there was no time to hesitate.

"Spirit Evolution!"

**-o0o-**

Kawabara Takuma was quite a gamer himself.

It didn't stop him from being surprised to see someone he'd barely known for half an hour transforming into a strange, unknown being—it looked human, at least, even though it seemed to be wearing a lion-shaped helmet of sorts and black armors, holding a long staff—wait, Kimura transformed into this? How did he—did he just use the so-called digivice? His mouth fell open, gaping at the dark figure resembling a humanoid lion, and could only scramble back when the dark figure leapt to the door, causing more passengers to scream in fright. It broke the monorail door, and easily leapt off again as the humongous bird-looking creature swept through.

"What—what was that?" Yamamoto Suzumi gasped from his side, and Takuma turned back facing the digivices. His amber eyes met Kanpei's brown ones, sharing confusion and amazement for a moment, but then Himi Tokiya's voice broke off their entranced minds: "Look!"

They snapped back towards the window, gaping as they watched Kimura—that was Kimura, wasn't it?—bounded towards the humongous bird creature, stabbing his staff through one of its wings. It let out an earsplitting screech, and Takuma gaped as he saw the humanoid lion Kimura had transformed into scrambled up, trying to hold on before letting go and jumped onto the suspended rail. He heard Kanpei releasing a frightened sigh, and turned around again. The red digivice was still floating before him.

Tentatively, he closed his fingers on the digivice. There was a sharp intake of breath coming from Himi Tokiya, and Yamamoto's gasp of "T-Takuma-kun!", but Kanpei was watching him closely. He took a deep breath, and grasped the digivice tightly.

The surge of power that ran through his very being was more than shocking. A power so raw and a bit terrifying, but also warm and inviting, and it was all he could do to reach out and let the power embraced the core of his being. It banished the fear residing in his heart almost instantly, alighting something inside him that he didn't even know he had. A confident smile broke through his face, and he looked up to see the other three's horrified face.

"I'm doing this." He stated, not an ounce of tentativeness left in his voice. Kanpei seemed to be hesitating a little, but with a swift movement he took his own digivice into his hands. Takuma could see understanding and confidence crept onto the bigger-built boy's face; he turned to look imploringly at Himi Tokiya and Yamamoto Suzumi, encouraging them with a smile.

"I—I don't—" Yamamoto stammered, but her hands were already reaching up to take the digivice. Himi was doing the same—eyes wide and gestures speaking of indescribable fright of something unknown and yet fascinating, but Takuma knew, this power would help them. This power he held in his hand, the same power that Kimura had used—it wasn't evil. It wasn't something they should be scared of. It was something that would change everything, and Takuma was excited to see where it would take him.

Now what should he do?

Something inside the power was grinning excitedly at him, and for a second he had a flash of a face—a confident grin framed by brown hair with a faded-green hat nestled on top, adorned with a pair of goggles—the boy was grinning, he was saying something, and Takuma found himself echoing the words:

"Spirit Evolution!"

Four different colors of lights blinded the whole compartment.

**-o0o-**

"Endlich Meteor!"

Lowemon inwardly cursed; for the umpteenth time, his attack was easily avoided. That Birdramon was unusually fast, and since he couldn't fly himself, his best shot was to engage battle from afar. He wasn't a rash fighter—attempting a close combat with a flying enemy up in the air when you had not the ability to fly wasn't a good choice. Leaping off towards a higher rail, he took a blind spot to shoot out once again. "Endlich Meteor!"

Birdramon let out another screech, halting on its trail, before turning and sped towards Lowemon instead. Lowemon started; he barely had the time to block his enemy's attack using his staff. The bird-type Digimon hit him full face, pushing him off the railings. Losing his footing, Lowemon quickly spun himself up, trying to reach the closest rail and get his leverage back, but as he floated in the air, Birdramon had already turned towards him and swoop down—

Lowemon cursed out loud, preparing for the impact—but it never came. Instead, another shout joined the fight as several globes of fire attacked Birdramon from the side. It gave Lowemon another moment to grab the side of the closest railings, and he watched in surprised as his eyes caught four familiar Digimon figures appeared—two of them flying and two others running along the rails. His chest tightened; memories of old days assaulting his minds, but the next attack sent him back to his senses.

"Brezza Petalo!" From above, Fairymon attacked, and Chakkmon followed —the small, white stuffed bear on his belt, oddly, didn't look out of place even here in the real world—blowing icy winds to freeze Birdramon's movements. The flaming bird Digimon thrashed in the air, as Agunimon sent out his Burning Salamander again, and Blitzmon charged up with his Thor Hammer, making the blue jacket tied around his neck flap like a hero's grand cape.

"This is amazing!" Agunimon leapt up to where he stood, grinning. Lowemon stared at him for a moment—how easy it was to believe that the one grinning at him right now was Takuya in his human spirit form, especially with the goggles around his neck. But the eyes that met him were those who had no experience—it wasn't Takuya. Takuya's eyes were deeper, having experienced pain and loss and what it felt to win after struggling so hard for life.

He smiled nonetheless. "Thank you," this one came out earnestly; he was grateful for the children had chosen the path of fighting, not running away. Turning his attention back onto the fight, he readied his staff. Now that there were others fighting together with him, he wouldn't have to worry about close-combat. The Spirits would guide them in battle, and they wouldn't let him fall. "Let's go! Ewig Schlaf!"

His attack successfully tore the right wing of Birdramon. Blitzmon followed suit, charging up and brought down another Thor Hammer upon the enemy. Birdramon thrashed, blindly attacking everyone in its way—Lowemon managed to dodge another ball of fire aimed his way, but then froze.

He forgot that the monorail was right behind him.

Almost in cue, frightened screams shrilled into his ears, and Lowemon turned back. The fire ball had hit the edge of a compartment, making it short-circuit and creating small explosions. Frightened passengers visibly pushing back one another, trying to run back into another compartment, and just like that, the compartment door suddenly swished open.

Right there, a boy was accidentally shoved off by the panicked mobs, lost his balance and fell off the compartment.

"No!" Fairymon shouted, quickly changing direction and shot off, trying to reach for the falling boy. Her purple hair ribbon fluttered as she surged down through the wind, and Lowemon stared, transfixed, at the blur of long, midnight blue hair, at the all-too familiar face that looked so identical to his own—feeling something in his stomach lurched in recognition, and as if unable to hold it any longer, the ball of emotion he'd kept tightly in his chest before burst out.

"KOUJI!"

His digivice flared up.

There was a blinding light as a digivice appeared before the falling boy. Out of desperation to stay alive, perhaps, the boy reached up to take the digivice into his hands, and Lowemon heard a familiar voice—one that had haunted his dreams nonstop for nearly a hundred years (or had it been more than that? He couldn't remember..) and echoed in his ears whenever another memory played behind his eyelids—shouting out the crucial words: "Spirit Evolution!"

Wolfmon came into being, leaping up with his light swords in his hands, leaving a stunned Fairymon behind. He was a blur as he sped past Chakkmon and Blitzmon, knocking Agunimon aside as he charged head on.

"Licht Seiger!"

Lowemon could not just stand. Almost in a daze, his feet leapt off after Wolfmon, expertly spinning his staff and attacked with another Ewig Schlaf. Wolfmon spared him a surprised look, but it was not the time—Birdramon was defeated as its circle of data appeared. Lowemon landed on another rails, taking out his digivice, and swiftly scanned it.

The silence that came afterwards was deafening.

**-o0ochapteroneendso0o-**

A/N: I sucked at fighting scenes. ;A; Forgive my inability to write well. Also, I apologize if the story is progressing a bit too fast; I just wanted to get the introduction chapter over with. I've never been good in introduction chapters, haha.

(1) "What will you do? Will you fight? Or will you not?" ("Dou suru no? Tatakaimasu ka? Shimasen ka?")—Plotmon, quoted from Digimon Frontier episode 47.

I purposefully named the new chosen children similar to Takuya and the others for convenience sake. I mean, since Takuya and Takuma sounds a lot similar, it'd be easy for you guys to remember that Takuma holds the Spirit of Fire, right? The same goes for the rest of them. So yeah, it doesn't really mean anything. It doesn't mean that Takuya and the others wouldn't have any role in this fic, though, ufufufu.

Please leave a review to let me know what you think? :D


	3. With the Will

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi; OCs.

Rating: Gen, I'm trying my best to keep it gen.

Warning: See previous chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I was challenging myself to do a weekly update, something I've never been able to do before, and planned to update every Thursday, but last week I was swamped by deadlines for work and school. I still have a deadline for work tomorrow, but I figured I don't want to fail the challenged even further and post this now. :]

This chapter is dedicated to Evide-san, who has been helping me bouncing ideas about "Japan 100 years later". It has been a very engaging discussion, and I'm really sorry I haven't been able to reply to your last e-mail, Evide-san! Also, this is dedicated to Asarikou-chan, for reviewing both previous chapters. Thank you so much for taking time to read and telling me what you think for the previous chapters, and I'm glad you liked the new kids. :] It meant a lot to me.

Please enjoy this chapter, and if you would take time to tell me what you think, that would be awesome. :D

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**With the Will**

The resemblance was uncanny.

Granted, the other four new chosen children also bore strong similarities to his friends. Kawabara had the same brown hair Takuya had at eleven years old, despite the difference in hairstyle and the fact that Kawabara hated hats. The two of them also seemed to have inexplicable love for goggles and the color red. Takuya's eyes were a deeper shade of red, though—Kouichi could still remember them vividly—and while Takuya was an unbelievably optimistic bordering on idiocy (in a good way, really), Kawabara seemed to simply be a rash person through and through. Not to mention the fact that Kawabara ran his mouth worse than Takuya did.

Yamamoto Suzumi was, to put simply, a shyer and more reserved version of Izumi. They had the same blond hair—though Yamamoto's only reached her shoulders—and the same smile; one that reminded Kouichi of the endless blue canvas of sky spelling out freedom to those tilting their heads up—though that kind of smile was more rarely seen on Yamamoto's face. Their eyes were different, too; instead of the clear emerald color Izumi's gaze had, Yamamoto had light brown eyes. Also, Yamamoto blushed way far more often than Izumi did.

Himi Tokiya was even smaller than Tomoki was. Even so, Kouichi could see in Tokiya the exact nervousness and hesitancy he used to see in Tomoki all the time. They had the same exact color of gray hair and blue-green eyes, and whenever Tokiya lowered his gaze passively, Kouichi was reminded of the way Tomoki used to hold himself around the older children sometimes. Tomoki was far more cheerful, and the most important thing was Tomoki talked far more often. Himi Tokiya didn't seem to know what to say or what to do at all; a complete opposite of Tomoki's initiative nature.

Mashiba Kanpei had the biggest built out of them all, just like Junpei did. Kouichi noticed though that Mashiba's built, unlike Junpei, was thanks to a lot of working out, resulting in bulking muscles that made him look a little like a bully. That didn't mean Mashiba's appetite didn't rival that of Junpei's. Mashiba's got red hair, too, unlike Junpei's brown one. What was strikingly similar was their eyes—Mashiba's firm, grounded ones was what had surprised Kouichi the first time they met. There was a gentle strength there, much like the way Kouichi remembered Junpei.

Even amidst the similarities he found between his old friends and the new children, Kouichi could still find the opposing facts, to which his heart groped and clung desperately. They were the things that grounded him, telling him that they weren't his late friends. That he shouldn't hope for the impossible. After all, the dead were never meant to come back. He'd only end up hurting himself, if he lowered his walls to them thinking that they were Takuya and the others.

Even so, the resemblance was uncanny. Between Minamoto Kouji—his own, dearest, irreplaceable twin brother—and Minashiro Kouji.

-o0o-

The azure autumn sky stretching endlessly above them, with only several clouds hanging so that the sun could hide between them. The afternoon Sunday was getting a bit too cold for autumn, a sure sign that this year snow would come early. Shibuya was as crowded as ever, if not more. If he had had another choice, Kouichi would prefer to have this meeting somewhere more secluded and quiet. There were so many things to address, and even though Miyashita Kouen was now a very nice and relaxing park to spend time at, there were still too many people around. But this park was the easiest place for them to meet up; a neutral place not too far from Shibuya Station, not only was it easy for reach, but also easy for someone like him to be spotted.

He never blended well with open areas with trees and greeneries underneath a bright blue sky. Perhaps it was because his element was darkness, but Kouichi never really minded anyway. There was a calmness in darkness that light didn't have and it made him feel safe.

Sprawled on the grass next to him was Takuma, lying on his back as his hand stretched up holding his red digivice, eyes examining its shape curiously. Sitting daintily with her knees folded on Kouichi's other side was Yamamoto Suzumi, fidgeting a little with the edge of her blouse. Mashiba Kanpei was on her other side, leaning carelessly onto a tree trunk with a bag of chips in his laps as he munched away. In front of Takuma, making the group form an odd half-circle, was Himi Tokiya, looking somewhat lost and bewildered.

"Oi, Kimura-kun," Takuma rolled to his side, throwing Kouichi a curious, and at the same time, expectant gaze. "You're really going to tell us everything about what happened yesterday, aren't you? This isn't just a joke, right?"

Kouichi gave a small, reassuring smile, even as his eyes only held Takuma's gaze for a second before sweeping the other direction of the park again. It was an understatement to say that he was anxious now, waiting for the last person who would complete their group. To be honest, he was both scared to meet that person, and scared if that person was not coming at all. Funny, that he'd lived for so long and yet was still able to feel something so paradoxical.

"It was awesome," Mashiba piped up, pausing in his munching. "Though I was freaked out a little—I mean, I didn't even know if I could go back to normal!"

As the others responded to Mashiba's exclamation with a laugh, Kouichi closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat and tried to calm his heart. It wouldn't do for him to have a panic attack right now—he wasn't supposed to be a normal eleven-year-old kid, was he?

It was Mashiba Kanpei's voice that started him: "Ah, there he comes."

Kouichi looked up, and found everything he'd prepared to say frozen at the tip of his tongue, unable to even move a finger.

Minashiro Kouji—that was the name of the new wielder of Spirit of Light—stood before him, giving the rest of the group a haughty glance, before dropping down to sit cross-legged right in front of Kouichi. The Warrior of Darkness himself had forgotten to breathe; because everything was the same exact replica of how Kouji was—every single thing, from the way he stared at people down to the deep color of his eyes _(so identical to his, eyes they had inherited from Mama, did Kouichi also had such beautiful eyes?)_, from the way he held himself to the way he sat and moved his head, from the midnight-colored hair to the way his ponytail bounced on his back when he shifted, from the way his lips tugged into an almost scowl permanently to the way he exuded a distrustful aura to strangers—

—and it was so, so unfair.

Because in the end, he was not Minamoto Kouji. He was still Minashiro Kouji.

"So I'm here." Even his voice sounded the same, as did the disgruntled tone underlining his words. Kouichi might have had the luck of meeting his twin brother after said brother's attitude changed for the better, but he'd also witnessed his fair share of Kouji acting cold to strangers. The way Minashiro Kouji talked only reminded him further of that.

Takuma leapt up to a sitting position, grinning widely. "Can we start now?"

"How about," Kouichi said, trying to buy some time to get his head back in order. "We start with the introduction first."

They did. Kawabara Takuma insisted that everyone called him by his name, and even boldly started calling Yamamoto by her given name. The girl seemed flustered at first, until Kouichi decided to step in and asked everyone to call him 'Kouichi' instead of Kimura, too. As if his decision was instantly made to be a universal law, everyone started calling each other by their given names, dropping formality in favor of a much more relaxed and intimate conversation. Kouichi watched as tension gradually wore off Tokiya and Suzumi's shoulders; Takuma and Kanpei proved to be as good as Takuya and Junpei were in engaging conversations. His gaze drifted and landed on Kouji, fingers subconsciously playing with the edge of the yellow-striped bandanna tied on his left arm.

Identical dark eyes met his own, and Kouichi visibly flinched, averting his gaze as fast as he could.

The only thing he could do was reaching deep into himself, seeking comfort from Lowemon's presence—_his spirit, his own half, his darkness_—and steeled himself before he began the long story about the Ten Legendary Warriors Spirits and the Digital World.

-o0o-

"So…" Takuma said deliberately, interested eyes fixed on the red digivice in his hands. "You're saying that back then, using the spirits of the Legendary Warriors, we turned into Digimons? And that from now on we're going to fight other Digimons?"

"The ones who are breaking through to our world, yes." Kouichi nodded, feeling somewhat strange to be referring the real world as 'our world'. It had been ages since the last time he had felt any sense of belonging to the human world; nothing had tied him back to it after everyone was gone, after all. "The Three Great Angels worried that their data would just be gone if they were simply killed; they would rather we scan the data and bring them back to the Digital World where they could be reborn. Besides, I have my doubts if even the most advanced technology would be able to hurt Digimons much."

"But you said the portal to our world was closed after the last chosen children saved the Digital World." Kanpei countered. "How could that Birdramon broke through to our world, then?"

"That's also our job to find out. Normal Digimons couldn't just open a portal, if they were able to break through, there should be something in our world that makes a crack between the two worlds. We need to investigate it, while the Three Angels investigate from the other side." Thinning his lips, Kouichi once again recalled the explanation he was given before leaving the Digital World. "There are more and more Digimons who turned violent back there, too. I don't think the problem is simply about the crack between the world."

"…this is kind of hard to believe, isn't it…" Suzumi's tone was contemplative; eyebrows drawn together in a way that reminded Kouichi too much of Izumi when the girl was turning things in her mind. Her digivice made a beeping sound when she pushed a button, and almost simultaneously, the other five digivices bleeped. Suzumi visibly jumped, hastily snatching her hands away, wide-eyed as she stuttered a panicked "What? What did I do?"

"They're also communication devices," Kouichi added. An awed chorus of "oooh.." resounded from Takuma, Kanpei and Tokiya. Kouichi caught Kouji rolling his eyes from the corner of his eyes, and involuntarily, the corners of his lips tugged upwards wryly. Even the small gesture was a perfect replica of what Kouji used to do when Takuya was—well, simply being Takuya.

It was then that Kouji—who had been ultimately silent before—finally spoke up. "You said there were Ten Legendary Warriors."

All eyes turned to him. Kouichi hesitated—those eyes identical to his own was filled with distrust and it felt weird. Kouji had never looked at him like that. Even back when he was Duskmon and his younger twin had no idea who he was, there was only anger in his eyes. Not distrust—never distrust. Distrust was not meant for Kouichi; distrust was something Kouji's eyes held when they were staring at strangers.

"I only see six, including you." Kouji continued, jerking his head at the digivices.

Kouichi swallowed. Yes, this was not his Kouji. He couldn't compare this person to his younger twin—even if the resemblance was disconcerting.

"The rest stayed back to protect the Digital World." He answered, feeling pride welling up in his chest when his voice came out steady and firm. "As I said, lots of Digimons turned violent, and it wouldn't do to leave the Digital World unprotected. The Great Angels also hadn't had the energy and power to open up a way through to get here, so I was sent as the only one to deliver the spirits."

"Guess they aren't as powerful as you made the sound." Kouji snorted.

"It wasn't like that. It took a lot out of them to change Lowemon and the others back into spirits." Kouichi had no idea why his voice took on a chiding tone—perhaps it was his old habit of chiding Kouji gently when his brother was being not nice to people—but his answer earned him a raised eyebrow.

"So they don't have the energy and power, but you do?"

Kouichi blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"You said the Angels didn't open up a way here. But you came from there, meaning that you opened up a way for yourself, right?" Critical eyes bored deep into Kouichi's own. "Are you even human?"

Abruptly, silence fell.

For a second, the atmosphere turned suffocating. Kouichi could feel five pairs of different eyes staring at him in curiosity, but that wasn't what made something in his chest clench. Kouji's last question had hurt—even more than he'd thought.

But this wasn't his Kouji.

He fought the urge to lower his eyes. The wind was getting chilly, swirling around his feet and rustling the dry leaves under them. "…Of course I am." As human as he could be, even with the fact of his immortality. But as Cherubimon had said, there was no need for the new children to know what he'd gone through in the past. "I just have… a very unique tie with the Digital World. It's what enables me to go back and forth as I wished."

Takuya made an interested sound and leaned forward. "Think you could get us to Digital World next time, Kouichi?"

He smiled apologetically. "I can't bring anyone else with me, Takuma-kun. That's partially why I only bring the spirits."

The boy looked genuinely disappointed instead of doubtful as Kouichi previously predicted, but he wasn't going to ask why. Now that the explanation was done, there was still another thing he had to do; something that Ophanimon never forget to give them back then: a choice. It was what had matured the six of them back then; the knowledge that they were doing things they had chosen whole-heartedly and therefore, they are responsible for anything that came with what they had chosen.

"As much as this seems like a game, it's not." He said quietly, looking back towards the digivices scattered on the ground. "This is going to be very dangerous, you could die or worse, you could cause someone else to die. You're wielding the Spirit, and that means you're the one responsible to control it. So I'm going to ask you again: will you fight? Or will you not?"

There was a contemplative silence that stretched a little longer amongst them, broken only by the whisper of the wind and the rustling leaves under their feet. There was a faint sound of birds flapping their wings somewhere in the park, and the sound of excited children chasing them. Kouichi was secretly glad they took a moment to think of an answer—at least they're taking this seriously, right?

Takuma was the first to break the silence with a grin. "I'll do it," he exclaimed proudly. "I said so last night, and I'm not going to back off now. Besides, it's interesting, isn't it?"

"And cool. So I'm in." Kanpei added with a tone of agreement.

"I—" Suzumi worried her bottom lip, trying to catch Kouichi's eyes before quickly letting her gaze drop to the digivices, and then turned to Takuma. "I suppose it's only… fair to be responsible after what happened last night. If I could help, then I'd be glad to."

"Sweet." Takuma grinned, before throwing an excited glance towards Tokiya. "How about you, Tokiya? You're in, aren't you?"

Tokiya started, opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought twice about it because he closed his mouth again and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm—I'll do it."

Kouji seemed to be considering the youngest of the group, but then turned towards Kouichi seriously. "Is there any consequences if we back off?"

Kouichi's heart sank. "…no, but…"

"Then I refuse. Sorry, but I was only trying to stay alive last night, and that's all." The long-haired boy gestured to his digivice on the ground, in line to Kouichi's digivice, before briskly rose to his feet. "I came here to give that thing back."

"Oh," was the only thing Kouichi could let off his mouth. If he said anything more than that, it'd probably come out shaky. He stared blankly at Kouji, dimly catching Takuma's protest and Kanpei's snort. Kouji didn't seem to bother dignifying his refusal with a reason. He kept his eyes on Kouichi's, and for once, Kouichi felt like this boy was trying to unravel something—seeking something, asking something from him that he had no clue what. Then he opened his mouth, and Kouichi tensed visibly.

"You're…." he trailed off; Kouichi distinctly heard his head buzzing and prayed his eyes weren't as wide as saucers. He felt a bit faint, and that was ridiculous. "… I feel like I've seen you somewhere." Kouji paused, and his gaze hardened a little before his head gave a shake. "Nevermind."

And then he was gone. Just like that.

It took him a bit longer to recollect himself, predictably earning him confused glances from the other children. He took a breath, painted another smile on his lips and began reassuring them that the Spirit of Darkness would find another wielder—it wasn't like Kouji was the only one listed as possible wielders—then pocketing Kouji's digivice along with his own. His chest felt strangely empty now, as if he'd just let go something ridiculously important and he knew it. But that was just a feeling, right? Because Minashiro Kouji happened to be an exact replica of his long gone twin brother—he just subconsciously let himself hope for the impossible, didn't he?

It was getting late, and they were walking back to the station when Takuma asked him where he lived. Kouichi shrugged—he'd gone back to Dark Trailmon last night and slept there; it didn't really matter to him. Besides, he didn't have any money with him, and it wasn't like he could just apply for a job when he was eleven years old again.

"Well," Takuma sounded excited when he made his proposal. "Why don't you come crash at my place, then? It's just my grandma and brother with me; they'd be glad to have you around."

-o0o-

Takuma's brother was named Kazuma, and he seemed to have an odd case of brother-complex.

"I told you to bring your jacket, Taku!" was the first thing out of Kazuma's mouth when Kouichi followed Takuma into his apartment. Before them, a teenager—most likely a high school student—with a slender built and identical brown hair stood, clad in simple trousers and a white shirt and an apron, waving a spatula threateningly. Takuma let out a groan, one that earned him a swift smack on the side of his head with the spatula.

"Oww! Kazu-_nii_, that hurts!"

"It's love. Why aren't you taking a good care of yourself—oh, who is this?"

Kouichi smiled as Takuma launched into a babble of explanation. Apparently, he didn't think that the whole Digital World and Spirits story as something to be kept secret—at least not to his family, perhaps. To Kouichi's astonishment, Kazuma only nodded and stared at him, almost like measuring him in every aspect possible, before pulling off his apron and said, "Alright, Kouichi-kun, is it? You're coming with me."

"Huh?" Kouichi blinked.

"We're going shopping," the older boy announced, shoving his apron to his younger brother and promptly slipped into his shoes—they were, conveniently, still standing in front of the door after all and Kouichi hadn't even had the chance to take off his shoes. Takuma spluttered something about Kouichi being a guest, but Kazuma ignored him and suddenly, Kouichi was walking with the other boy towards the shopping district.

The shopping district in this era, Kouichi realized once they got there, was completely different from what he knew. Sure, it was still a block of more traditional shops: liquor stores, antique shops, small cafes and food stalls like ramen and takoyaki, small convenient stores, several flower shops and a book store. There was even a small shrine at one corner of the district—looking lonely despite it obviously being well taken care of. But there were little things Kouichi found surprised by: the fact that the cashiers used a flashy, five dimensional and hologram-like computer monitors, or how the ramen stalls used touch-screen monitors to take orders instead of the customers simply yelled their orders like how it used to be back then.

Kazuma led him to one of the ramen stalls, easily touched his order on the monitor. Kouichi followed, feeling a bit disconcerted, the way someone would feel when a part of their daily routines was suddenly disrupted. Telling his orders to the seller directly was a part of eating in traditional food stalls he'd taken for granted for so long, and the fact that that simple action was now replaced by a machine, surprisingly, unsettled him a little.

Kazuma was less talkative than Takuma; they didn't even talk about anything when their orders came and they dug in. Regardless, Kouichi could feel his eyes watching every gesture the Warrior of Darkness made—probably judging if he was a dangerous person unlike Takuma had claimed. It wasn't until the two of them finished their food that Kazuma leaned back on his seat and regarded the blue-haired boy with suspicion.

"What Taku said, was that true?"

Kouichi stared back evenly. "What do you think?"

"My brother does not lie." The answer made Kouichi smile a little. "But those were impossible stuff. Even I find it hard to believe, and while I know Taku wouldn't lie…"

Kouichi shrugged, and his smile turned polite. "I don't have any intention to do anything bad. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do."

"No, you don't seem like a bad guy to me." Kazuma didn't even hesitate to let his next point across. "If anything bad happened to my brother, you do know I won't ever let you off."

Kouichi understood that—the feeling of protectiveness. After all, he was an older brother, too, even if by mere minutes and even if his brother no longer existed in this world. Instead of saying anything though, he nodded with a sympathetic smile. Kazuma looked taken aback for a second, before letting a smile of his own graced his lips and rose to his feet. The older boy paid for their meal—so now the ramen stalls even accepted credit cards?—and gestured for Kouichi to go out ahead.

Then all of a sudden, the shop around the corner exploded and turned ablaze.

-o0o-

His stepmother loved flowers, especially lilies.

A white petal of lily under his fingers bent into an odd angle, making Kouji hastily snatch his hand back before the florist caught what he'd done. He didn't quite mean to; his mind was miles away and he wasn't even aware he had fingered the flower petal. The long-haired boy let out a small sigh, lips thinning as his thought went back on the previous track.

That Kimura Kouichi looked disturbingly much like him.

True, it wasn't the first time he'd seen someone who looked like him. One of his neighbors when he was little was often mistaken as his older brother because they look so much alike. It was just one of those things called coincidence; just another coincidental meeting that could happen to anybody. This one was just a bit too bizarre, thanks to the whole Digital World thing.

Even so, was it normal to feel so strongly for someone he had just met?

His cell phone buzzed insistently in his pocket, pulling him back into reality. Flashing a glance towards his wrist watch, Kouji inwardly cursed—he had been wandering around all day and completely forgot about the time. His mother was probably worried. A finger touched the screen of his phone, sliding across the smooth surface to answer the call. It blinked once and a his mother 's fretful face appeared on the screen.

"Yes, Mom."

"_Kouji? I thought you said you'd be back around midday. It's almost six now and it'll be dark pretty soon. Where are you?"_

"Not far from Grandmother's house. I'm about to go home." He frowned, catching a terse underlining tone in her voice and the tense lines on her face. This was the woman who had raised him since he was a mere baby after his mother died in childbirth, and he didn't like the notion of anything bad happened to her. "I'll be home around seven. Mom, did… something happen?"

"_No!"_ the respond was too quick for Kouji to believe. His eyes narrowed, watching his mother on the screen shaking her head vigorously. _"Nothing—nothing serious, Kouji, don't worry."_

"Was it Dad? Home drunk, again?" He let out a soft 'tch', turning around to leave the shop. "Did he say something again, Mom?"

"_No, no, it's alright. It's just the usual, about your—your birth mother and your brother—"_

"You know better than to listen to him, Mom." Kouji stepped out of the shop, nodding to the shop clerk who smiled him a thanks and come again. "I'll be home soon, is there anything you want me to—"

His words were cut abruptly as a loud explosion reverberated through the street. There was a beep from his phone, and then his cell screen flickered before his mother's face vanished and the phone itself died. A string of swear left his mouth when the corner of his eyes found the source of the explosion: the shop at the next corner was ablaze—tongues of flames licking the darkening sky, sending scorching heat towards every direction. But that wasn't what shocked him. It was the sight of a dinosaur-like being that stood in the middle of the road, breathing fire.

Digimon, he realized with a sinking feeling.

His feet felt like they were frozen, unable to move even as people around him scattered to every other direction, running off in terror. His ears buzzed with the sounds of people screaming, shrieking, calling their family and friends, shouting for others to get the hell away from the creature. Kouji could practically smell the fire and breathe the ashes, and something was banging inside his chest, making it hard to breathe.

He was panicking. Calm down, he told himself harshly, forcing himself to breathe hard through his nose. He only needed to get away, and as long as he got home safely—

_Hot. Thick smoke everywhere he could barely think. Where were they? Trapped. They were trapped. He had to get out, had to get his brother out, had to—mother. Where's mother?_

Kouji swayed, wide eyes still locked into the sight of fire and the creature in the middle of the chaos. What was that? What had just flashed in his mind? What—

"Endlich Meteor!"

A shadow of something black—a figure?—flashed from the corner of Kouji's eyes. He took a sharp intake of breath, and something in him snapped. Power returned to his legs, and, wasting no time, he backed off towards an alleyway that offered more safety than the place he previously was. There was already a little kid there, whimpering with wide, terrified eyes, but Kouji couldn't bring himself to care. His gaze was locked at the somewhat-familiar figure of Lowemon, jumping from roof to roof as he tried to avoid the flames licking out towards him.

Something in his chest sank into his stomach. Fear, he realized, but not quite for himself. He watched as Lowemon dove onto a burning roof, staff straight upwards to dodge a ball of fire sent towards him by the dinosaur-like Digimon. The movement stole his balance, though, and Kouji's whole body went rigid when Lowemon suddenly slipped off the roof almost right into the inferno. Lowemon's hand shot off, stabbing his staff onto an edge of the roof and swung himself upwards just before the Digimon's humongous hand swept at his hanging body.

Kouji let out a shaky breath. His eyes followed Lowemon's movement as he charged head on against the dinosaur-like creature—_where were the other kids? Didn't they say they would help?_—as his staff collided with the Digimon's claw. The difference in power too far, Lowemon was easily knocked off. He landed on the roof, instantly facing a fire orb sent right at him and shot off his Endlich Meteor to counter. Kouji's breath hitched when the two energy spheres exploded, swallowing Lowemon's figure along with the roof he stood on.

_No!_

His ears were ringing, and something buzzed inside his head, making him feel dizzy. Something—something was skirting the edge of his mind—ghostly fingertips tickling its corner, as if trying to push something to the forefront. Something important, something he should remember—

_He was coughing, dragging someone by the arm towards the door. The fire was going to reach the door, and before that happened, he needed to open it. It was stuck—__**dammit dammit dammit**__—and he turned desperately towards the person behind him, finding identical midnight eyes hazily looking back. Shit, shit, shit he needed to get them out there was no way he was going to lose him, not again—_

Lowemon reappeared—Kouji subconsciously heaved a relieved sigh—the Warrior of Darkness looked a bit worse to wear, but still charging ahead as the Digimon roared, shooting another ball of fire. The staff split the ball into two, making a way for the Warrior of Darkness to get through, but a clawed, huge hand was already sweeping out—Lowemon only had the chance to let out a gasp before the hand slammed into his side, throwing him off as easily as if he were a rag doll. His back crashed onto the burning shop's wall hard, knocking all air out of his lungs.

Kouji didn't even realize he'd fisted his hand in anger. No—both in anger and panic, and there was an inexplicable rage sizzling in his chest. Defiance welled up, giving fuel for the rage to stir, because _how dare _it touched Kouichi like that, and Kouji couldn't just stand aside and watch, not when Kouichi's life was—

A small part of his mind voiced a confusion: _why do I care?_

The Digimon gave a roar, charging a huge fire globe in his mouth, facing right towards Lowemon. Kouji's fist trembled in fury. He had to do something. He had to—he needed to. He wouldn't just let Kouichi be hurt, or worse, _die_—not when he could help it. It was irrational, this feeling welling up his chest, and he couldn't understand any of it. Not the anger, not the fear for Kouichi's life, not the desire to protect. He could only feel it swallowing up his very existence, and there was that desperate voice in the deepest part of his mind, asking—no, _begging_—for power.

Power.

The power to protect.

He needed to protect.

"KOUICHI!"

Right before his eyes, something flared up, and Kouji saw the familiar shape of a digivice. It was calling, and there was undeniable power in it. The power he needed, the power he begged for. The power he wanted.

His eyes narrowed, and his hand moved even before he thought about it, reaching out to the raw power enticing him. There was a second of shock when his finger touched the digivice, but the burst of power—of light—that surged into his being was something he welcomed gladly.

"Spirit Evolution!"

-o0o-

He couldn't move.

"Damn it!" He gritted out, unable to take his eyes off the globe of fire charged in Greymon's mouth. He would have to slide evolve in order to access the raw power of the Beast-type Digimon, but he couldn't even find the energy to do so right now. Their difference in size should not have really mattered, but this Greymon, like yesterday's Birdramon, was different. There was an unexplainable power fueling the wild Digimon's strength. A Greymon shouldn't be this strong.

Kouichi wouldn't die, as much as he'd like to himself. It didn't mean he had to like the immense pain he'd go through if that fire ball slammed into him. And he could only watch in dread when the sphere of fire was released, charging towards him in an unbelievable speed.

"Licht Seiger!"

Something white blurred before him, blinding him for a moment (when was the last time he saw a light so… _bright_?) and Lowemon had to raise an arm to shield his eyes. There was an explosion—too close to his liking—and something in his chest leaping up in panic and disbelief. Was that—?

"Zwei Hander!"

Impossible. Completely impossible.

Lowering his arm as the light slowly vanished, Lowemon's eyes widened as a blue and white human-like figure stood before him in a protective stance, confirming his earlier guess. Wolfmon's back was tensed, ready to attack as his blue and light beige scarf flapped behind him, and Greymon was on the other side of the street, having been knocked back by Wolfmon's surprise attack.

"…Wolfmon…" he breathed out, a hand reaching out before he even thought of it. A jolt of pain from his side caused him to let out a groan, and he saw Wolfmon stiffened. The Warrior of Light didn't turn around, but reluctantly shifted his gaze to check on his friend. Lowemon could see him frowning. "Don't force yourself and get yourself killed!"

With that, the other Digimon leapt off towards Greymon, leaving Lowemon in astonishment. Dimly, there was another familiar shout followed by another attack—Chakkmon was there, fending off the blaze and trying to put off the flames with his ice. A blast of wind smacked Greymon across the face; Fairymon had arrived with Agunimon and Blitzmon, raining fire and electricity attack on the beast-type Digimon. Its roar echoed off the now empty street.

Lowemon forced himself to stand back on his feet. Blitsmon sped past, with a quick glance at him and shouted a "You okay there, Lowemon?" to which he gave a confident nod. Now that everyone was here fighting, there was no need for him to slide evolve. The fight would be a piece of cake, he thought as he sent off another Endlich Meteor, joining Agunimon's Burning Salamander and Fairymon's Brezza Petalo.

Wolfmon charged up behind the attacks, not giving a moment for Greymon to collect itself. A deafening roar rang in the air as Greymon's figure flashed once, revealing the circle of data around its body, and Wolfmon didn't hesitate for a second to scan and purify the data into his digivice.

When everything was over, what remained of the shop were just burnt woods, and a thick, black smoke was raising high to the sky. Faintly, from afar, the police siren echoed.

-o0o-

There was an obvious relief on Kazuma's distressed face when the older boy saw the six younger boys emerged from an alleyway. Kouichi could still see the faint trace of shock and disbelief on the his expression; he wondered if he would need to explain everything more clearly to the elder Kawabara later.

"Taku! That was—highly dangerous… are you okay? You're not hurt? Tell _Niichan_ where it hurts—"

"Ugh, Kazu-_nii_! Stop it—I'm just fine, see? We kicked that Digimon's ass!"

"Huh, I don't think it's called an ass, Takuma. People usually call it rear end—on dinosaurs, at least."

"Let's not get technical, Kanpei."

"Were you hurt, Kouichi-kun?" Suzumi's eyes brimmed with worry as she took in Kouichi's appearance closely. The boy didn't look too bad, but exhaustion was certainly apparent on his face, as well as a weary relief. He gave her a polite smile, reassuring the girl that he was just fine.

"That was really close," Takuma commented, a bright grin replacing the worried expression he had before. "We went out as soon as you contacted us using the digivice, but we almost didn't make it, did we? Thank God you were there, Kouji!"

Kouji spared him a glance and shrugged. Tokiya sent him a curious look. "But you gave back your digivice. How did you evolve?"

"He called it back." Kouichi was the one who replied, eyes looking straight into Kouji's. Something in his gaze was probing, and there was still a hint of disbelief in his look. "You were calling your digivice back, weren't you? You wanted power…"

He trailed off, but Kouji had already cut him. "I can't just let someone die right in front of my eyes."

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this." Kouichi quietly said. For a moment, Kouji looked conflicted, but the expression disappeared in the next second. Slipping his hands into his pants pocket, the Warrior of Light averted his eyes, and mumbled lowly. "Don't ask. You—I don't know why but seeing you—I just… can't."

Silence fell between them, hanging in the air as if no one dared to break it. Kouichi swallowed, realizing with a sinking feeling in his stomach that there was warmth blooming in his chest, rapidly and uncontrollably enveloping him. He shouldn't feel like this, should he? This wasn't his Kouji. This Kouji wasn't his twin; he wasn't born together with anyone. And yet—

And yet, he couldn't stop himself from smiling a little and saying "Thank you for saving me."

Kouji looked uncomfortable, and he let out a soft humph. Takuma grinned, nonchalantly reaching an arm towards Kouji and pulled him into a friendly headlock. "You're not honest, Kouji! Man, it's a relief—welcome to the team!"

Kanpei, Tokiya and Suzumi echoed the sentiments, bright smiles etched onto their faces as the prospect of winning the fight seemed even possible now that the Warrior of Light had joined them. Kouichi kept the small smile on his face, until Kouji forcefully broke free from Takuma's hold to look at him seriously.

"I don't want to be blamed if anyone died." He said with a scowl. "I'm doing this just for that."

Kouichi fought the urge to bite his lower lip—the resemblance was more than uncanny. It was disconcerting for him that he had to finger the edge of his brother's bandanna that was still tied on his arm. It served as an anchor now, reminding him that this wasn't his Kouji. No one could ever replace Kouji, and Kouichi didn't want anyone to. Regardless, he nodded and forced another smile.

"Thank you," the words felt dry on his tongue. "For choosing to fight."

Something flashed in Kouji's eyes, but Kouichi couldn't quite read what it was, and it was gone in mere seconds.

The Warrior of Darkness sighed inwardly. This would be a long fight.

-o0ochaptertwoendso0o-

A/N: Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing Kouji's point of view, though I have to say I wasn't quite satisfied with it. My brain seemed to be forgetting a lot of vocabularies so I feel like I couldn't describe things very well. I love Kazuma though. I have thing with characters having sibling complex, probably cause I've got one myself =))

Chapter title was taken from Digimon Frontier's insert song, "With the Will", sung by Wada Kouji. One of the most awesome Digimon songs, it is.

Miyashita Kouen is located in Shibuya. Evide-san and I were in agreement that "Japan 100 years later" would lack of space, but we believe there would still be parks made to be 'natural'. Thus, I used Miyashita Kouen. Speculating how Japan would be 100 years later was so much fun, and I hope to corporate the elements that have been discussed into the story, though some of it might be hard. xD

Thank you again for reading! Reviews are welcomed, and flames would be ignored. :]


	4. Strayed Souls

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi; OCs.

Rating: Gen, I'm trying my best to keep it gen.

Warning: See previous chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

A/N: So seriously this chapter nearly killed me. For some reason my brain is shutting off on English language whenever I tried to write the chapter, and I am absolutely dissatisfied with how it came out, but it has to go out or I'll fail the update-once-a-week challenge again ==a But yeah, someday maybe I'll go back and revise this; maybe once school and research stop frying my brain.

Thank you for everyone who had reviewed the last chapter—it meant so much to me. I started this purely for fun, but knowing that there are others out there enjoying this as much as I do writing it made me feel beyond happy. Thank you again!

Dedicated to the lovely Evide-san, thank you for the awesome discussion, and I hope you're quite satisfied with how the results made their way to this fic. Also dedicated to Vaporeone for giving this fic a chance and also pointing out a mistake on previous chapter. Apparently my brain gave me the name Zwei Hander while I was actually thinking of Licht Kuger. Sorry about that, guys. ;_;

Alright, now on to the next chapter. Enjoy, minna-san!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Strayed Souls**

"You want me to what…?"

He didn't bother to cover the surprised tone in his voice. On the bed at the other side of the room, Takuma stirred, lowly mumbling about digimons and evolving and kicking ass, before turning his back towards Kouichi's side of the room. Kouichi consciously lowered his voice—Kazuma would not be pleased if his brother lacked his sleep. "Ophanimon, I'm not quite sure…"

"_As a mentor, would it not be your responsibility to make sure they could stand on their own feet, Kouichi?"_ by the sound of her voice through his digivice, Kouichi could picture the Great Angel of life and love smile meaningfully. _"It would also be a good opportunity for you to start objectively seeing them in battles. If you're always in the tray fighting with them, you would not be able to judge objectively, would you?"_

Kouichi hesitated. "Yes, but is it not too… early…? I don't know, Ophanimon—they just got their Spirits barely three weeks ago, they're not yet used to the battlefield and—"

"_Did Takuya and the others—and you, of course—fare badly back then? We trust you know exactly the strength of the wild Digimons. You have always been a great observer, Kouichi. Would it not be a great chance for them to start standing on their own, the next time a Digimon that will not be a major threat appears?"_ This time Kouichi caught a familiar sound that was unmistakably a chuckle, and it didn't belong to Ophanimon. His guess was proven right when the next voice that greeted him was that of Seraphimon.

"_You might just find something you'll like, Kouichi." _The other Angel told him. He'd taken Ophanimon's place on communicating with him, it seemed. _"It would not hurt anyone. The Spirits would guide them, you know that."_

**-o0o-**

Kanpei had the luck to be the first one out of the six children who happened to stumble upon the next Digimon that made it through the barrier between the Digital World and the real world: Floramon. It didn't take long for the rest of the children to arrive and join in the fight, but Kouichi was the only one who opted to remain in the shadows of an alleyway; tensed eyes locked onto the battle while one hand gripping his digivice tightly, ready to join in whenever the situation called.

Fairymon launched yet another Brezza Petalo upon the enemy, gracefully flipping backwards when Floramon retaliated, and Wolfmon effortlessly took her place, blasting off a well-aimed Licht Seiger and knocked the flower-head Digimon a good ten meters backwards. Floramon let out a shriek, shooting off vines from her hands towards the Warrior of Light in hopes of binding him in place, but Agunimon was faster as he shot off another round of Burning Salamander. Kouichi frowned as Floramon managed to dodge Agunimon's attack—Floramon wasn't originally an aggressive Digimon, and was certainly in no way should be this strong.

Something was off. The Digimons that had been breaking into the real world seemed to be fueled by an inexplicable power, giving them a boost of strength that often surprised Kouichi. There must be something going on in the Digital World. As he had feared—as they all had feared—this was more than just a case of the barrier weakening. Something was at work here; something that drove more and more Digimons to break though the barrier and gave them power to do so. But what—

"Wolfmon, you're in the way!"

"Speak for yourself, Agunimon!"

"Guys, this isn't the time to—Chakkmon! Watch out!"

His frown deepening, Kouichi began to once again question Ophanimon's order. The Great Angel of Life and Love had insisted that he sat out of the next fight—she even got Cherubimon to back her up, much to Kouichi's disbelief. The rest of the chosen children were just barely getting the hang of using their powers and the battles, not to mention the fact that their teamwork was still far from decent. His fingers tightened around his digivice; at this rate, he might need to jump into the battle and guide them to finish again.

"Isn't Kouichi here yet?"

"It's no use depending on someone who isn't here, Blitzmon!"

"Kacchi Kacchi Kocchin!"(1)

"Chakkmon—great job! She's frozen!"

"Now's the time, everyone!"

There was a loud explosion as five different attacks met their frozen target. Kouichi had to raise an arm to shield his face as thick smoke enveloped the whole area. He squinted hard and breathed through his sleeve, trying to make out figures in the smoke—there were hazy shapes he couldn't quite determine who, but he could recognize the swirling light of data that encircled Floramon's blurry figure.

The smoke slowly cleared, and Kouichi could finally see Agunimon standing tall before Floramon. He could even see Takuma's spirit inside Agunimon; the narrowing eyes blazing with the knowledge of doing something right as brown hair under his hat falling over his confident expression,

Wait.

Takuma hated hats.

And Takuma had not the confident expression of someone who knew what exactly he was doing, nor the blazing eyes of someone who had been through too many things to count.

It was not Takuma's spirit he was seeing inside Agunimon.

It was Takuya's.

There was no way Kouichi would mistake it: the hat, the very same googles that encircled Agunimon's neck, those brave eyes, that determined look of doing something right. Something in Kouichi's stomach lurched in an inexplicably unpleasant way, but he couldn't take his eyes off Agunimon, until the corner of his eyes caught a movement from Fairymon.

Suddenly, Kouichi couldn't breathe.

He was not seeing Suzumi's spirit inside Fairymon—he could easily distinguish them, because while both of them had blond hair, Suzumi's hair wasn't even half the length of the spirit Kouichi saw inside Fairymon. Kanpei certainly didn't have brown hair, and Tokiya never wore hats, and was that—was that _his_ Kouji? Why wasn't he wearing his bandanna? Kouichi had to get to him, had to give the bandanna back, had to apologize, had to—

No. He was hallucinating, wasn't he? There was no way he was seeing Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki and Kouji inside the Legendary Warriors. They were gone. Dead. And those who had died weren't meant to come back to life; he was fooling himself, and he needed to stop of he'd get hurt. It wasn't Takuya and the others—it was Takuma and the others.

It wasn't _his_ Kouji. It was _Minashiro_ Kouji.

Yet, he couldn't bear to take his eyes away from the sight. If this was a dream, if this was a hallucination, then it was a brutally cruel one.

But then, the hazy vision of Takuya inside Agunimon seemed to stiffen, before slowly but sure turned towards the alleyway where Kouichi had hidden himself.

Their eyes met.

The vision smiled, winking.

"Digicode Scan!"

And then they disappeared, swiftly fading back into the spirits of the new chosen children.

Kouichi's heart nearly stopped.

**-o0o-**

"What was that?"

He demanded, harshly, into his digivice. The playground was eerily empty; the sun had long kissed the horizon good night, and the chilly air that signaled the coming of winter was settling in, convincing people to stay home and wrap themselves in warm blankets or curl their bodies under the kotatsu (2). He was sitting on a swing, hadn't even bothered to come back home to the Kawabara's in order to get a jacket, even though the Kawabara apartment was only one block away from the playground.

"Kouichi-kun," was Ophanimon's hesitant answer. "You know we don't have the answer to everything."

"You guys told me to stay back and watch—don't lie to me, Ophanimon, I know you guys know about this!" His tone took on a shrill pitch, and he barely noticed. His head was buzzing; images of the earlier battle flashing through his mind like a movie being fast-forwarded: Izumi's long blond hair, Junpei'skind, firm eyes, Tomoki's determined face, Takuya's smile. His chest tightened with anger, fear, frustration, and unfathomable hope, bubbling up his throat until it hurt to speak. "Takuya and the others!"

"Kouichi, please calm down." That was Seraphimon, a blatant worry underlining his voice.

"Stop playing around—if you guys think I would appreciate this…" Kouichi knew he was babbling, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Were the Angels creating the vision of his friends? Were they trying to make Kouichi replace his old friends with the new chosen children? He couldn't—wouldn't forgive this. "I'm doing everything you asked of me, aren't I? I brought the spirit, I came back to the real world, I found the chosen children, and I even take the responsibility to guide them! Why are you doing this?"

For a moment, his digivice fell silent. The moment stretched out, so long that Kouichi began to think the connection was cut off.

When another sound reached him, it was Bokomon's voice that called his name. "Kouichi-han?"

"Tell me I'm hallucinating," Kouichi begged. His eyes stung with tears that wouldn't come out—he had run out of tears a long time ago. His throat felt dry, and his very existence was gripped with inexplicable fear. The fear of hoping. "Tell me what I saw wasn't real. Bokomon, please. I can't—I can't go through this again. It's not that I don't want to have them back—I desperately want to, but this isn't going to last is it; they'll be taken away from me, again! I can't go through that anymore, Bokomon, please—"

He could hear a heavy, resigned sigh. "Nothing would come out of deluding one self. I believe Kouichi-han knows that better than anyone."

"I can't!" he buried his face into his hands, gripping his hair hard. "They're gone, Bokomon, they're gone! I've gone through that—I'm not going to replace them; I don't want to! I can't!" He let out a dry sob, frustration thick in his throat. "They aren't really here—I'll just get hurt again in the end and I can't—I can't take it like this, Bokomon. Not again. Make it gone, please. Please."

"Wouldn't it be better if Kouichi-han asked the new children?" A tentative suggestion. "They are the ones who hold the spirit. If there's any other soul inside the spirit, they would be able to sense it, wouldn't they?"

"But—"

"Kouichi," Cherubimon's gentle voice took over, and almost instantly, Kouichi fell silent. "If it were the previous chosen children's souls that resided in the spirits, you wouldn't want to keep denying their existences, would you?"

Kouichi swallowed. No. Of course not. He'd rather die himself than denying his friends' existences—whether it was their souls or mere bodies, it didn't matter. But he couldn't go through this again—he couldn't bear to have them back only for them to be snatched away again. He'd go insane.

"It's always your choice, Kouichi-kun," Ophanimon ended their conversation. "It's always your choice."

**-o0o-**

Many things considered, Takuma thought conclusively, Kouichi was a strange guy.

Maybe it was just because Takuma was a complete extrovert that the notion of someone as quiet and secretive like Kouichi somewhat bothered him. The older boy never talked much and was actually shy despite his firm and often confident attitude when it came to their job as the chosen children. But no, Takuma mused as his eyebrows knitted together; his fingers absently tapping the pencil on the table in staccato, homework forgotten completely aside.

Kouichi was strange for many reasons.

There was his preference in clothing. Takuma wasn't the type who was interested in fashion himself, but he could've sworn that Kouichi wore the most plain, most boring clothes ever. Takuma had seen the grand total of a jacket, two pairs of trousers and three shirts that Kouichi had in his backpack on the first night the older boy crashed in his place, and boy, did those clothes looked so… old-fashioned. No intricate designs that were so popular these days, no accessories other than that red hat he almost always wore. It was kind of funny how Kouichi kind of stood up in the crowds exactly because he wore such plain, old clothes almost everyone had left behind in the innermost corner of their wardrobes.

Kouichi's constant fumbling with almost every electronic device—even old ones like phones and their holographic TV—was blatantly apparent it felt awkward to watch him sometimes. Lately Takuma had been making a point to accompany Kouichi to go around places most of the time, just so the boy wouldn't make a spectacle of himself trying to use electronic devices by himself. Alright—that was him exaggerating situations. Maybe the Digital World didn't have such advanced technologies that the real world. He remembered Kouichi telling Kazuma about how the Great Angels had been altering some data through the connection to the Digital World to set him up—that included a bank account, necessary identity administrations, and so on and so forth. Kouichi told them he'd lived in the Digital World for a long time, so Takuma guessed the boy had been there since he was little.

Oh, did he mention Kouichi's speech? Because seriously, the older boy spoke like Takuma's grandmother did. All polite language, often using words that were quite difficult for their age, and worst of all, Kouichi only knew little English. In the bilingual country of Japan, not knowing English didn't mean you couldn't survive, but for teenagers like Takuma and the others, not speaking English every so often was just—not cool. Sometimes Kouichi did mix some English into his sentence, but the usage was often wrong and the pronunciation bad. It was like meeting someone who had been living in the most remote part of Japan, and Takuma didn't quite know how to help Kouichi with these kinds of stuff.

Not that it was his business, but they were friends, right? Friends helped each other, and—well, alright, he was quite taken aback when he noticed that Kouichi was near but didn't jump in and fight with them earlier; but there must be a reason to it. Right?

"Takuma?"

The brunette jumped in surprise, whirling around on his chair instantly as the door was opened. Kouichi was standing on the doorway, looking unsure, and Takuma hurried to gesture him in. His room was now Kouichi's room, too, as long as this problem of Digital World was still abound. Kazuma seemed to think that keeping the one responsible for the whole fiasco close—and Kouichi happened to be the only one in this world who had direct ties with the Digital World—so the eldest Kawabara went against Kouichi moving out of the Kawabara household.

"Hey," Takuma raised his hand casually, a grin lighting his face. "Where've you been? You kind of just disappeared after the battle." At this, Kouichi regarded him with surprised eyes, and his grin grew wider. "We saw you, y'know. Just before I scanned that Floramon."

"I was…" Kouichi trailed off, but shuffled into the room nonetheless. "I just… wanted to see if you guys would be able to handle it well without me. I would have jumped in if things went for the worse. I'm sorry."

See? So there was a reason why he stayed back, Takuma thought to himself, somewhat relieved that Kouichi hadn't betrayed them all. "Yeah, no worries. We were the only ones to notice you, and I didn't tell the others anything."

The older boy halted on his steps towards his side of the room, turning around to face Takuma properly. There was a slight tremor in his voice, obviously fear sneaking in, as he tentatively repeated, "…we…?"

Raising a hand to scratch his head in confusion, Takuma made a confused sound. "Yeah, me and him. You know, the one who is—oh, right, I haven't told you yet. Sorry." The boy offered a sheepish smile. "Well, there's this—there's someone inside the spirit of fire, see…."

Kouichi felt like he was swaying on his feet for a second—or was the room spinning? The wielder of Spirit of Darkness took a step back, and slowly sat himself on the edge of his bed. There was no way what he had seen back there was—no, of course there's someone inside the spirit. There was always someone; Agunimon is there. Agunimon was always there, that's what Takuma meant, right? To his dismay, his next reply came in a near-whisper, betraying his efforts to deny what he thought was in the spirit. "Of course there is. Agunimon—is there, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Agunimon's inside, of course. He lends me his power after all—but no, that's not it." Swiveling his chair absently, Takuma scrunched up his face, looking for the right word. "You see, there's someone else."

"Someone… else…?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear this. "Other than… Agunimon?"

"Yeah. Said he was the previous wielder of the Spirit of Fire." At this, Kouichi could feel his heart sinking to his stomach. Takuma, oblivious to his friend's inner turmoil, continued. "I don't know exactly why he's there, but he's been guiding me in battle. You know, how to move and attack and defend, stuff like that. He's always there whenever we fight, and he'd be gone after we scanned the Digimon, though I could feel his presence in me. He's probably some kind of remaining soul or something—Kouichi, are you okay? You look pale."

The mention of his name snapped Kouichi back to reality; his face had gone white, and his eyes were wide, both in disbelief and fear. Takuma was taken aback; he completely didn't expect Kouichi to react bad. Was having another person's soul in the spirit a bad thing? Was he not supposed to mention it at all? "Kouichi…?"

"N-nothing." But the older boy refused to meet Takuma's eyes. Something was definitely not _nothing_. "You're—you're probably just… imagining things, Takuma-kun. There should be no one else…"

"This isn't supposed to happen?" Confusion underlined Takuma's voice, and Kouichi caught a hint of worry there. "Am… Am I alright, if this happened? I mean, I'm not the only one having another soul inside the spirit. The others—Suzumi and the others told me they have it too, and that's how they know what they should do in battles."

Kouichi's figure went rigid. "The others, too?"

"Well I haven't asked Kouji but—"

"There's just no way anybody else would be in there! They can't!" Kouichi exploded, holding his head in his hands and pulled at his hair in frustration. "They can't be there; not Takuya and the others!"

Takuma instantly clammed up. Okay, so he hadn't expected Kouichi to burst out like that, but it wasn't like Takuma knew what was going on here, did he? Kouichi didn't have to be—wait, did he say Takuya?

Confused eyes turned to hold Kouichi's slumped form on the edge of the bed; his voice held a different, curious tone when Takuma spoke again: "You know Takuya?"

Silence reigned the room for several moments, in which Kouichi froze completely. Takuma thought he could see Kouichi's arms trembling, but it could just be a trick of the light. It was a long time before Kouichi finally moved—stiff and awkward and heavy, like Takuma had just dropped a ton of bricks on his shoulders—and answered his earlier question.

"No. No… I don't know him."

Then the older boy swiftly slipped out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Takuma behind.

**-o0o-**

Impossible. It was just completely impossible. How could his friends' souls be inside the spirits, together with the legendary warriors? It just didn't make sense; they died, Kouichi went through all the pain of losing people important to him, they certainly died. To have them back was—frightening. To have them back meant they could be snatched away from him again, and Kouichi didn't want to go through the same pain twice. His existence would survive—he was immortal after all—but his soul wouldn't.

He was broken enough as it was.

Kouichi ran, having bolted off the Kawabara household, ignoring Kazuma's surprised inquiry about where he was going. Outside, it was dark already, but he couldn't care less. Nothing in this world was familiar to him anymore—even Kouji and his mother's graves where he used to go whenever he felt that going on living was too much to bear were gone, replaced by tall skyscrapers. Nothing was familiar, nothing could be his anchor at a time like this.

By the time he stopped, he realized he had no idea where he was. The neighborhood was completely unfamiliar, tall apartment building lining up along the road as the anti-gravity cars swooshed by. The traffic light was just up ahead, the pedestrian red light switching to green; a cue for everyone to cross the road. Nearby, an air-powered bicycle passed by, blowing a cold gust of air to his side.

Kouichi gasped for breath, and wished that tears would come.

Maybe then his chest wouldn't hurt so much.

"What are you doing here?"

The all-too-familiar and much missed voice made him look up, and for a second Kouichi wished fervently his heart would just stop. Kouji—Minashiro Kouji—was standing before him, distrusting eyes gazed indifferently at him. Two pairs of identical midnight eyes locked for one-two-three seconds, and, frustration bubbling up his throat, Kouichi let out a humorless, loud laugh.

Kouji looked at him strangely.

"Sorry." Kouichi gasped, covering his mouth with a hand, once he got ahold of himself back. His eyes stung, his chest was too tight it hurt, and yet not a single tear gather in the corner of his eyes. God, when was the last time he cried? It had got to be more than a decade ago. "Sorry—sorry I was just. I was—"

"Nevermind," Kouji mumbled, swinging his—Kouichi really shouldn't be surprised when he noticed it—bokuto on his left arm to his right. He eyed Kouichi wearily, and Kouichi for once wanted to laugh and cry and shout at the same time. Instead, he voiced a rough, "What are you doing here yourself?"

"I live around here." Kouji jerked his head towards a direction. "And as far as I know, Takuma's apartment is not. Why are you here?"

"Nothing—just. Walking around." Kouichi shuffled, feeling stupid. He didn't even know his way back. His eyes fell upon the bokuto, and the words slipped off his mouth before he realized it. "You take kendo."

It wasn't even a question. Kouji regarded him with a curious look, before giving him a shrug. "Yeah, since before I entered elementary school."

"I see," Kouichi replied, feeling as if his right arm—the one he'd tied Kouji's bandanna on—had gone numb. Kouji's eyes, in turn, landed on the bandanna. Something in his eyes seemed to change then, but the younger boy shook his head and returned his gaze to Kouichi's. "I should get going."

"Yeah. It's quite late, your mother must be worried."

"I had to stay late in the dojo since I came late. That Floramon took a lot of time." Kouji grumbled, before turning around on his heels and started trudging down the road. "I'll see you sometime."

"Wait—Kouji." The younger boy halted on his steps at that, turning halfway to get a good look on Kouichi. Kouichi swallowed, fisting his hands in a conscious effort of not backing down. He had to—he needed to know. "Takuma-kun told me that… there's someone else inside the spirits. Other than the Digimons, I mean."

Comprehension dawned on Kouji's face. "Oh. Yeah, he said so. The others have them, too, it seems." Then his eyebrows knitted, the first confused look Kouichi had seen on him since they first met. "I guess it's either there isn't anyone else inside the Spirit of Light, or he wasn't ever going to greet me."

Kouichi's heart missed a beat. "Wait… there isn't?"

"No one." Shaking his head, Kouji turned around fully to face Kouichi properly. "What, that's a bad thing?"

Kouichi had not the answer. So he bowed low instead, trying not to focus on the odd disappointment clawing his chest, and said "Good night, Kouji-kun," before turning around and walking away.

**-o0o-**

He could still see them—his old friends' figure, instead of the new chosen children. Flashes, to be exact, and they startled him too much that he nearly screwed up; if it weren't for Wolfmon's quick dive to push him out of Starmon's attack, he might have lost an arm.

"What's with you?" the Warrior of Light growled in exasperation. Lowemon swore he couldn't have been more thankful when he realized that the spirit inside Wolfmon was indeed Minashiro Kouji. There was no flash of someone else there. The Warrior of Darkness shook his head and narrowed his eyes; from the corner of his eyes, he caught a blur of purple and noticed that Fairymon was launching another attack.

"Sorry—I'm okay." He brushed off Wolfmon's hand on his arm, and ran after Chakkmon—who had been thrown back a good ten meters in the air by the enemy's attack. He ignored the noise of annoyance Wolfmon made, and instead focusing on catching the Wielder of Ice who was falling. Arms reaching out, Lowemon nimbly seized the smaller Digimon into his arms, feeling the full weight once Chakkmon was safely caught.

The Wielder of Ice looked up gratefully, and Lowemon froze.

Instead of seeing Himi Tokiya's tentative eyes, it was a pair of familiar cheerful green eyes framed by unruly brown hair under a hat that flashed under his eyes.

"Tomo—"

"Ah… a-arigatou, Lowemon!" His stutter was cut off as Chakkmon jumped off his hold. It was Tokiya's figure again inside the Wielder of Ice, and once again Lowemon was left stunned. Was it his imagination? Was he so unbelievably desperate and lonely, that he started hallucinating that his friends were still there, wielding the spirits?

The explosion that followed Agunimon's Burning Salamander snapped him back to reality, just in time to see Blitzmon holding out his digivice, shouting "Digicode Scan!" as he scanned and purified Starmon's data. Kanpei's figure flashed, but then blurred into something—no, someone much more familiar.

His breath caught in his throat, Lowemon let out a shaky "Jun..pei…?"

Something next to him moved—Fairymon had landed next to him, startling the Warrior of Darkness. He turned, fully expecting the pink and purple Digimon to look at him and perhaps, the shy eyes of Suzumi peering up towards him. But no, he was greeted with a smile so happy it was nearly blinding, while clear emerald eyes boring into his own with unrestrained amusement.

"It's been a while…" at that voice, Lowemon could feel himself swaying. Izumi's voice was one of the five voices he could never forget; his heart constricted painfully. "Kouichi."

His entire world froze.

"I…zumi…"

And she laughed, with that tonality of hers that reminded him of endless blue sky, sounding freer than Suzumi could ever be. Just like that, and his eyes suddenly brimmed with uncontrollable tears threatening to fall the curve of his cheeks. She gave him a cheeky wink, and then her figure blurred. Long golden hair slowly became shorter, hanging just right above the shoulders, and Suzumi's shy but curious eyes returned.

The difference was suddenly so jarring, he had to take a step back.

"Kouichi-kun?" tentatively, the Warrior of Wind spoke up. Dimly, Kouichi realized he had subconsciously de-evolved back to his human body, and Fairymon was looking down on him. There was a moment of awkward silence, then a cocoon of data enveloped Fairymon's form as the Digimon de-evolved back, leaving Suzumi unharmed once the data swirled off. The girl fixed careful eyes on him, curiosity obvious in her gaze.

She tilted her head a little. "You… know Izumi-san, Kouichi-kun?"

It snapped him off his disbelief, and Kouchi shook his head. "A… friend.." the words tumbled out of his mouth before he realized it, and he quickly looked away. There was no way it was really Izumi. No—it was probably one of the tricks the spirits had, one of their powers that were unknown still to Kouichi. "Just… it's the spirit, Suzumi-san. The Spirit of Wind."

Suzumi opened her mouth, about to say something, but seemed to think twice because she closed her mouth again and swallowed, before murmuring a soft "…if you say so…"

"Suzumi-chaaaan, did you see? I scanned it!" Kanpei's ecstatic voice drifted by. Kouichi spared a glance towards the other kids; Takuma was flailing, voicing out protests about how he was the one delivering the final blow and Kanpei was _not_ supposed to scan it since he was about to, really; Kanpei facing Takuma's wrath with a smug look on his face, and Tokiya chuckling softly behind him; while Kouji had just de-evolved, watching from the distance with that familiar semi-scowl on his face.

He sighed, stepping back and tried to reach deep into his heart. As usual, Lowemon's presence was strong and comforting like an anchor. The spirit of darkness was there, albeit silent. Kouichi wished Lowemon could have spoken to him at times like these—it would be nice to hear some reassurance that he hadn't gone crazy, that this whole thing was a joke, that—

Deep inside, the spirit shone just a little stronger, warming him from the very core, returning a small courage that he could hold on to for the moment. Kouichi closed his eyes, mentally thanking Lowemon for being there—for being the only familiar presence that stayed with him, forever.

"Umm, Kouichi-san…?"

The hesitant voice drew him back to reality—but he felt better now. Enough to return Tokiya's worried look with a soft smile of his own. "Sorry, Tokiya… what is it?"

Relief quickly spread on the younger boy's expression, but Kouichi could still see the uncertainty tainting Tokiya's eyes. "Um, nothing. You seem a little… out of it today. I was wondering if you were okay."

For some reason, the sincerity ringing with the younger boy's words turned Kouichi's smile into a more genuine one. He lowered his body a little, enough to put him on an eye level with Tokiya. "Not quite, but I'm fine now. Thank you for asking."

The boy brightened. "That's… that's good. So—uhh. I'm… going straight home since my house isn't far from here, and Takuma-oniisan wanted to come over for a bit. Do you want to come?"

Honestly, Kouichi couldn't find any harm upon the suggestion. He needed distraction, and it was necessary to know a little bit more about the new chosen children. He just needed to keep himself and not get too involved with them. There was no need to get that close to anyone ever again—he would only be left behind, after all. Keeping his smile intact, he straightened. "The others, too?"

"Well—Kanpei-san wanted to come along too, and Takuma-oniisan's dragging Kouji-san. If…" Tokiya's gaze found Suzumi's, brightening a little. "If Suzumi-san wants to come, then we'll all go."

"No," the refusal came almost too quickly, but Suzumi was returning the smile politely—the ever princess-like that she was. "Unfortunately I have to come home early tonight. I should get going…" For a second, her eyes moved sideways to hold Kouichi's, looking so thoughtful that Kouichi was suddenly strongly reminded of Izumi. He gave her an awkward smile, before she cast her gaze downwards, bowed and turned around to leave.

"Tokiya, Kouichi!" Takuma's voice came, drowning Kouji's irritated objections. "If we don't go now, we'll be late for dinner home!"

**-o0o-**

"Holy shi—" Takuma's swearing only died in his throat for Kouichi's sharp look that landed on him. Really, Tokiya was much too young to get used to swearing words, and Kouichi wasn't about to let it slide if any of them swore. Perhaps it was because he had become an 'Uncle Kou' once, taking care of kids and protecting them. "Tokiya, you live in a house?"

Tokiya looked uncomfortable, one hand holding the wooden gate handle that seemed to be larger than his own hand, almost as if he was hesitant to push the gate and let them enter his property.

"And it's a traditional house!" Kanpei's voice rose in wonder, wide eyes taking every detail of their surroundings greedily. Almost baffled, Kouichi finally turned to Kouji to see his reaction, and was surprised to see him wide-eyed, an expression of amazement obvious on his face. For a moment the eldest boy knitted his eyebrows; the pleasant surprise etched on each of the chosen children's face was too exaggerated to him. It was just a traditional house, surely it wasn't their first time seeing it? Granted, he had learnt on his third day in the real world that it was unbelievably hard to find spaces for actual, proper house nowadays. Most people live in apartments, inhabiting tall buildings as if trying to get closer and closer to the sky.

Tokiya let out a nervous chuckle. "Um, my family likes to keep tradition. This house is originally my Great Grandfather's, and since my Father is the first son, he's the one continuing the family line, so he inherited both the company and this house.."

"Boy, aren't you rich," Kouji muttered in amazement.

To be fair, Kouichi himself was quite amazed by the sheer vastness of the Himi house. Once they were through the wooden gate, they were greeted by a white stone path that led to the main house. Kouichi wasn't an expert, but he had lived long enough to have decent knowledge of Japanese gardens, and immediately recognized that the garden was a perfect miniature of a roji garden(3). They were at the outer garden, it seemed; Kouichi caught a sight of a covered arbor with another gate that led to the inner garden. Though a bit obscured by the trees, Kouichi could still see another smaller, traditional, old-looking house that he assumed to be the tea house, and a small Shinto shrine. The garden didn't have flowers, but the greenery was something the city rarely had nowadays, and Kouichi gladly welcomed it, secretly thanking that snow still hadn't fallen and he had the chance to enjoy the garden without any spot of white that was the snow piling up.

They were passing by the koi pond when someone approached them from the main house. A young woman, clad in white and pink yukata with a pattern of cherry blossoms which sleeves swished elegantly in time with her movements, her geta making a rhythmic sound as they hit the stone path, her hair cascading down her back. Tokiya paused, and for the first time since Kouichi met him, his face brightened like a thousand candles suddenly lit up.

"Oneesama (4)!" he hurried forward, leaving the others trailing behind. The young woman chuckled politely, extending her arms to take Tokiya's reaching ones. "I didn't know you're here today!"

"I'm not going to stay for dinner, unfortunately," she patted Tokiya's head affectionately, and the boy grinned happily as a shade of pink colored his cheeks. She turned her head, tilting it gracefully at the sight of the other kids. "Oh? You're bringing friends, Tokiya-chan?"

"Um, yeah. We—play soccer together." Tokiya stammered, obviously making up excuses quickly. "Um, guys? This is my sister-in-law—my first brother's wife. Oneesama, these are my friends; that's Takuma-oniisan, Kanpei-san, Kouji-san and Kouichi-san."

The young woman bowed low, and the other boys scrambled to do the same. She smiled, gesturing towards the main house. "Please come in—the head of the house is meeting with my husband right now, so I would appreciate it if you would keep silent."

"Traditional house is so awesome," Takuma murmured under his breath, and Kanpei made a sound of agreement as they all followed Tokiya and his sister-in-law up towards the main house. "It's my first time ever entering one."

"It is..?" Kouichi raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Are traditional houses _that_ rare in Tokyo nowadays?"

"It's so rare in any part of Japan nowadays, Kouichi." Takuma huffed, before looking up and jerking his head at the direction where they could see the closest block of skyscraper buildings. "Seriously, when was the last time you came out of the Digital World? Even owning a house is very expensive; you know there isn't much space for housings in Tokyo."

Kouichi was almost tempted to blurt out that he'd been gone for more than a hundred years just to stomp on Takuma's obnoxious tone—that boy really grated on his nerves sometimes. He chose to give a small sheepish smile instead, letting the matter slide. Maybe he could ask some stuff to Kazuma when they were home—the high school student had a knack of answering any question Kouichi had without probing him back.

Even if they tried to be silent, in reality it was almost impossible, considering the wonder unceasingly tumbling off Takuma and Kanpei's mouths coupled with their enthusiasm once they entered the main house. Tokiya led them to his room while his sister excused herself to make some tea and snacks. Kouichi hid a smile as he padded across the room and sat down, pausing to run his fingers on the tatami (5) underneath; it had been an exceedingly long time since he last felt the rough feeling of tatami under his fingertips, after all.

Admittedly, Tokiya's room was not as traditional as the rest of the house, with posters of children anime and tokusatsu plastered on the wall, along with Tokiya's daily lesson schedule for school. There was a futon, of course, neatly folded on the corner of the room. A see-through screen (Kouichi was quite amazed when he found out that what constituted a computer in this era was a see-through screen and a keyboard. Really.) was flickering on top of a study table just right next to the window, and a small holographic, four-dimensional television just off to the side. The center of the room was just big enough for a small kotatsu with oranges where they all sat right now—the heat from underneath the table was pleasant after the biting early winter chill outside.

What caught his attention was a wall parchment that looked like a family tree on the wall closest to him, though.

From the hallway, a gruff voice sounded, calling Tokiya in an ordering tone. The youngest boy scrambled to his feet, nearly stumbling on Kanpei's foot as he let out a "I'll be back in a minute!" before sliding the shoji door open and slipped out, leaving his guests alone.

Kouichi stood, deciding to take a good look on the family tree while Takuma and Kanpei browsed through the television channels and Kouji simply sat on his spot, feigning boredom even though Kouichi could have sworn he saw the wielder of Spirit of Light's eyes strayed in curiosity towards the open window. Perhapse the long-haired boy was interested in the garden. Shrugging, Kouichi returned his attention to the family tree, finding Tokiya's name easily enough. He retraced the branches—it went up to Tokiya's great great great grandfather, and Kouichi had to admit that he was pretty impressed, seeing the tree was done very neatly.

His finger traced back towards Tokiya's name and went back up—Tokiya's father, Himi Shinobu. Tokiya's grandfather, Himi Yuuji. Tokiya's great grandfather, Himi Genjyou. Tokiya's great great grandfather, Himi Yutaka. Kouichi's eyes strayed sideways, towards the name of Himi Yutaka's sibling, and his heart suddenly sank to his stomach.

Himi Tomoki.

Of course. Tokiya was so much alike Tomoki—his small build, the green shade of his eyes, his hair color. His last name. Funny it turned out that Tokiya still had blood ties with Tomoki, albeit not a direct one. Kouichi stepped back, worrying his bottom lip. Maybe—maybe the other chosen children also had indirect lineage with his friends? No, Kouichi shook his head—Junpei didn't have a sibling, and he ended his family's lineage with his family's painful death. Not to mention Kouji never made it into adulthood, and Kouichi as his only brother never had any children either.

This was probably a coincidence.

"Hey, Kouichi?" Kanpei's voice drew him back to reality, and he turned around to find the other three children crowding the door. Takuma gave him a wary look, and continued for his friend, "…Tokiya gets in trouble… I think."

"What?" The eldest of them crossed the room, joining the rest to press up against the door and listening in on what was happening on the hallway. He frowned—he could hear a faint gruff voice droning about school and mediocre grades and responsibility, reprimanding toned sneaking in as it cut off Tokiya's stammering explanation.

His mind prompted the sight of Tokiya—looking hesitant and scared and not knowing what to do or say. Kouichi made a small noise in his throat, making his friends turn questioningly to him, but he simply shook his head. "Let's pretend we don't hear anything," he said before stepping back and gestured for the others to do so. "It's a private matter."

"Well yeah, but if he gets into trouble because he's bringing us…" Takuma's murmur hang in the air, and all of a sudden the room became uncomfortable. Kouichi sighed inwardly—he knew everyone had their own problems and personal situations, and as a mentor, it was something he had to take into account. Ophanimon wouldn't like it if he ignored those kind of things.

No wonder Tokiya was so reserved, and didn't seem to be able to refuse anything anyone asked of him, nor standing up to speak what was in his mind. Kouichi made a mental note to speak privately with Tokiya about his family later on.

That was another thing added on the list of things he needed to solve.

**-o0oendchapter3o0o-**

A/N: Holy shit this turns out longer and more dragging than I expected. Sorry about that. I was quite fascinated with traditional Japanese houses lately after a lecturer brought it up. The whole description about Japanese garden was from Wikipedia, and the rest of the stuff I threw in about Tokiya's room was shallow personal knowledge.

Kacchi Kacchi Kocchin is one of Chakkmon's attack in Japanese. I think it sounds cute, I rather like it. :3

Kotatsu: You know, those low tables that has a heater thing underneath? No? Google it. Japanese usually put mikan (oranges) on kotatsu.

Roji garden: A Japanese traditional garden style, usually created as a setting for tea houses for chanoyu (tea ceremony). Tokiya's house, of course, doesn't have a real roji garden—I rather imagine his house has a hermitage garden of some sorts that consist of a miniature of roji garden. If you want to know more, Wikipedia rocks.

Oneesama: It's… a super polite suffix for older sister, I'm pretty sure.

Tatami: a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms.

On another note, many of the "Japan 100 years later" elements in this fic are the results of my discussion with Evide-san, especially the things Takuma mused about Kouichi being weird. I love that part endlessly. Also, I am aware that I did the research necessary for this chapter fleetingly—school ate my life, honestly—so if there's anything you guys found inaccurate or something, please don't hesitate to tell me, okay?

Alright, I'm gonna shut up. xD Reviews and constructive criticisms are loved. Flames are going to be ignored.


	5. For Each is Their Problem

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi; OCs.

Rating: Gen, I'm trying my best to keep it gen.

Warning: See previous chapters. Also, for this chapter, beware of the length and the too-many-unimportant-stuff-happening. Sorry, I wanted to build a base for the kids' relationship.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

A/N: So, totally late. Again. Wanna know why? Cause midterm exams happened. –sighs- Actually, I still have the last midterm exam for Sociology Economy in… seven hours, and I'm supposed to be asleep, but my teeth hurt so bad I can't even fall count the sheep properly. ;A;

Thank you for those who had reviewed the last chapter, I believe I replied to you all unless you anonymously reviewed ;D This chapter would be dedicated for yue-chan, the lovely anonymous reviewer for staying since the first chapter, and Gemini Star01 for simply still reading, and it means so much for me. This fic is, after all, some kind of tribute for her The Last. :]

Without further ado, enjoy this chapter!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**For Each is Their Problem**

Small fingers hovered hesitantly above the screen on his table; green eyes slowly shifted as he read the question over and over again. His English wasn't what people would call helplessly bad—at least he was sure he was still better than Kouichi-san—but he had always have problems with grammar.

Question 16: _Which of the sentences below is written in past perfect tense?_

His lips thinned, before finally deciding to land his finger on choice (b) _I had not watched nor listened to the baseball game last night_, Tokiya slid his finger upwards to move on to the next question. The screen on his table flickered, and a warning came up: reminder from the teacher that they only had ten minutes left for the test. The boy hastily closed the warning, just at the exact time something hit him softly on the back of his head.

Swallowing a surprised exclamation, Tokiya slowly turned—ah, of course. Akihiko. Akihiko, who was raising an eyebrow and directing him a glare holding a promised of something bad. That particular classmate of his did tell him before the test—or rather, ordered—that he was expecting Tokiya to share his test answers. Suppressing a sigh, Tokiya shifted on his seat so he didn't seem conspicuous, and started giving his friend the signals.

One finger up for choice (a), two fingers for choice (b), three for choice (c), and four fingers up for choice (d).

Trying not to attract attention—he instantly froze when the teacher's watchful eyes glided over to him—Tokiya slid one finger of his other hand downwards on the screen to check his answers. His left hand was still hidden behind his back, so that he could give signs to Akihiko. He was halfway through when he heard the sharp sound of someone clearing their throats, and he immediately froze.

His teacher—wait, since when did Sensei stand behind him?

"Himi-kun," he flinched at the heavy voice. "Tamura-kun. Stand up, leave your screens on the table, and please go to Chiyo-sensei's room. Both of you would earn zero point in today's test for cheating."

"But Sensei-!" Akihiko was protesting, but Tokiya's shoulders already sagged. Both guilt and worry—and maybe fear, a little, because Akihiko's friends were sending him angry looks—bubbled up his throat. He swallowed again, before raising to his feet at his teacher's next bidding and stumbled out his seat, following Akihiko's steps.

Predictably, his classmate was furious. He was immediately subjected to an intense glare once they were out in the hallway—Chiyo-sensei's room was just down the hall—and Akihiko gritted a "You can't do anything right, can you Tokiya?"

"I—" Tokiya stammered, face paling. "I tried, Aki-kun… I didn't notice Shimizu-sensei at all. I—I'm sorry…"

"God!" Akihiko threw his hands up in exasperation, and stomped down the hallway first. "I just asked you to give me the answers! It's that easy and you screwed up. And you're not even the smartest one in class!"

Tokiya bit his lips, unable to let out the biting remark scratching at the back of his tongue: _it wasn't like I was glad to give you answers, I didn't even want to!_, and fell into small steps—Chiyo-sensei's room seemed to loom at the end of the hallway, and it scared him.

-o0o-

The youngest member of their group was definitely out of whatever it was they were discussing—which was, to Kouichi's dismay, important enough as it was regarding the recent development in the Digital World.

"Tokiya-kun," he said gently, and raised an eyebrow to see the smaller boy flinched in surprise. Had he been so deep in thought that a mere call would startle him so much? "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, buddy, are you even here?" Takuya elbowed his younger friend gently, eyes looking down in concern. Tokiya looked up to offer a hesitant but reassuring smile, but before he could speak up that he was okay, Kouji gave a sniff. "Kid, you have zero talent in lying."

"Kouji-kun," Suzumi furrowed her eyebrows, and Tokiya looked down again in dismay, making Kanpei mutter a "But Kouji's a kid, too."

Kouichi smiled, cutting in before anyone could react further at Kouji's poorly shown concern. Almost like a second nature; he used to do this all the time, too, back then: rephrasing what Kouji said so people would understand that the harsh words his brother used didn't necessarily ill-meant. "What Kouji wanted to say is," he said, trying to catch Tokiya's eyes, but the boy seemed to resolutely keep his eyes down. "Tokiya-kun seemed to be really out of it and something might have happened. Do you want to talk about it?"

For a moment, silence ruled over them. Tokiya fidgeted with his digivice, seemingly torn between keeping his mind to himself and telling the rest of the children about his problem. But Takuma's presence next to him was comforting, and so were Kanpei, Suzumi and Kouichi's concerned eyes, and even Kouji's watchful look. The youngest of them took a breath, as if trying to release something that was tied up in him.

"I—well, I got in trouble at school." He mumbled, keeping his eyes down, half-hoping that the other would leave it at that. But when the silence that followed seemed to be prompting him to elaborate the story, he sighed. "I gave my friend some of my answer for an English test, and Sensei caught me in the act."

"Ouch," Takuma grimaced. "What bad luck."

This earned him a swift elbow in the stomach, hard, causing him to hack before turning with an expression of protesting towards Suzumi. The girl merely looked at him pointedly, mouthing a soundless _that's not what you're supposed to say, idiot!_

He didn't take it lying down, though. Suzumi might be right, but Takuma wasn't going to judge Tokiya just because the norms in society said cheating was a bad thing. He retorted instead: "What? Everyone knows that cheating's bad, but some of us still do it when we didn't have any choice, right? Besides, Tokiya was the one giving answers—he couldn't have wanted to do that." Takuma peered at the Spirit of Ice wielder. "Right, Tokiya?"

A tentative shake of the younger boy's head confirmed it. Kouichi frowned. "Why didn't you refuse then, if you didn't want to?"

"I—" Tokiya stammered, looking guilty. "I couldn't. Aki-kun's so much bigger, and he's had judo training, and he has a lot of friends, too. I… didn't want him to hate me—everyone will hate me too if he does…"

Kouji made a sound at the back of his throat. "But he'd hate you nonetheless, now that you've gotten him caught, too."

Tokiya stiffened, and Kanpei threw Kouji an exasperated glare. "Come on, Kouji! That's no way to comfort someone!"

The Spirit of Light wielder was about to open his mouth and retort, but once again Kouichi was faster, cutting him before he could get another word out. "What happened then? Did you get punished?" the dark-haired boy stared at Tokiya carefully, trying to see any trace of physical punishment. Back in his school days, there were still teachers who punished the students by slapping their hands with rulers, and being the receiving end of the rulers was quite a painful experience. Especially when they used iron rulers. Kouichi wasn't sure if such methods were still used in this era, but he would need to know if Tokiya was injured anywhere. He didn't want to gamble by sending one of them to battle while injured, after all.

Tokiya shook his head again. "Chiyo-sensei is a family friend," his voice turned smaller and smaller, with a note of fear underlining his words now. "She told my family about it. She said they know better how to handle my punishment."

"Oh my," Suzumi gave him a sympathetic look. "Your father didn't punish you too hard, did he Tokiya?"

"No—I mean, I only got lectured…" the small voice trailed off in the end, and Tokiya looked more uncomfortable than ever, before continuing with an even smaller voice: "…just… I don't like it when they lectured me." He stopped then, and by the look on his face, Kouichi was sure Tokiya wouldn't elaborate more on the topic. So the elder boy merely nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

Takuya patted the smaller boy's back gently, his grin lightening the somber mood. "That's okay, that's okay, Tokiya! See, my brother yell at me all the time, the nosy person he is. Man, you wouldn't believe it, he gets so angry whenever I forgot to bring my umbrella. Said I'd get sick and all, completely forgetting that I'm a boy." He sniffed indignantly. "Boys don't get sick that easily."

"That's baseless generalization." Kouji deadpanned, but Takuma waved his statement away. Kouichi let a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips at that.

"Cheer up, Tokiya," Kanpei ruffled the boy's hair, causing Tokiya to yelp in surprise. The bigger-built boy grinned widely, eyes dancing when Tokiya scrunched up his face trying to smooth his disarrayed hair back. "I know just the thing to make you feel better. How's a free ticket for the amusement park sound?"

Tokiya looked up in interest, and the others perked up. "Amusement park?"

Kanpei's grin turned victorious. "I won a bet against my Dad, and asked him to get me free tickets for us to Odaiba Sea Amusement Park. Thought it'd be a great way to spend time and, y'know, team-bonding! It's going to be fun!"

"No way! I'm in, I'm totally in!" Takuma's voice boomed, raising in excitement, leaning forward with huge eyes that spelled out _holy-shit-free-tickets-are-you-serious_ clearly. Kanpei looked smug, apparently happy to get his friend so excited, and turned towards Suzumi with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Suzumi-chan, you're coming too, right?"

Suzumi put on a thoughtful look, but everyone could see the amusement and excitement tugging on the corner of her lips even before she gave Kanpei a wide smile. "Well, I'm free this weekend, so I guess that's okay. We wouldn't get back too late, would we?"

Kanpei visibly brightened. "Really, Suzumi-chan? Uwaaah, now I'm ecstatic! I'll make sure we won't get back too late, promise! And my Dad will be driving us there, so no worries about the transportation." He turned to Tokiya. "Think your Dad would let you come with us?"

"I…" Tokiya seemed torn. "I want to go, I really do. But… after yesterday, I'm not sure he'd let me…"

"I'll get Kazu-nii to help asking your Dad about it." Takuma nodded confidently as Kanpei chimed in: "And I'll get my Dad to pick you up!"

Green eyes looked up, half in disbelief and half in delight as a shade of red spread on Tokiya's cheeks and a pleased grin bloomed without restraint. "R-really? You guys would? Th-then, I'd—I'd like to come!" He looked down again, seemingly embarrassed with his too excited respond, but Takuma slapped his back gently, good-naturedly, before winking at Kanpei, who was also beaming. "It's decided then, this weekend we'll go to Odaiba Sea!"

Kouji shook his head, sniffing again, and Kouichi could practically see him slowly putting back the wall between him and everyone else. It made his throat constrict, and it was all he could do not to reach out and clasp Kouji's shoulder (maybe to make sure that he was here, that he wasn't going to go away, or disappear somewhere, but…). But this wasn't _his_ Kouji. This Kouji could stay aloof and cold if he wanted, Kouichi didn't have any right to try and change him. Nonetheless, he couldn't stop a frown from forming, but Kanpei beat him to it before he could even open his mouth. "What, Kouji? You're coming too, right?"

"No. I have things to do." His tone was clipped, his arms crossed on his chest and his expression had turned indifferent. Closing his eyes, Kouichi found himself wishing he couldn't recognize those signs—those exact same signs he noticed when _his_ Kouji was trying to close himself off from everyone else. It hurt to see someone else could pull it off flawlessly, in a painfully precise and detailed way.

"Of course you do," his tone sarcastic,Takuma rolled his eyes, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous thing in his whole life. "Kouichi, you're coming, right?"

Kouichi stared at the ground, pondering the situation for a moment. This was a chance for them to forget their responsibility, a chance to pause and take a break from everything. A good chance for some team-bonding as well, as Kanpei had said, and it was just as important to let them goof off now and then—they were still children after all. Weren't there a lot of times in Digital World back then when they would all have fun and forget about the danger, too? Tokiya would cheer up again, and Suzumi would be more inclined to come out of her cocoon of shyness, but—

Did he need to come, too?

Did he need to get even closer to them, anymore than this?

"Sorry," he said, with an apologetic tone and a soft smile. He was glad his voice came out steady, despite the sliver of fear sneaking into his chest. "I suppose I could go, but I would need to come back to the Digital World soon and report—"

"But you just said that we can take our time earlier. No rush, right?" the pointed look Kanpei gave him told him that he wasn't about to let Kouichi off so easily. It only got worse when Takuma nodded in agreement and continued, "You can do it any other day, Kouichi. Come on, it's free! You haven't been there, have you?"

"Well," he hesitated, and cursed himself when his eyes shifted sideways to look at Kouji out of habit. He used to glance at Kouji whenever he had to make a decision by himself, back then, to see if his brother was also thinking what he was thinking; but this Kouji wasn't _his_, and therefore his glance was returned only with a thoughtful look. He hastily threw his gaze another way. "Um, well, I—"

"It'd do you good to relax a little, too, Kouichi-kun." At Suzumi's voice, he looked up, to see the girl staring at him hopefully. She stammered, though, when their eyes met. "I—I just think that—well, it must be hard for you… since everything, you know, so…"

She wasn't making any sense, but Tokiya was already chiming in. "Please, Kouichi-san? It'll be fun if everyone comes!"

Tokiya's huge puppy eyes were too similar to Tomoki's pleading ones; and Kouichi knew he was lost.

-o0o-

It came as a shock to him, when he realized that he was pleasantly surprised to see Takuma smugly dragging Kouji over to the group; today with the addition of Kanpei's father leaning on his anti-gravity SUV.

The triumphant noise Kanpei made didn't stop the corners of his mouth to twitch up a small smile, absently remembering how Takuya used to be able to drag Kouji out of his shell, too. Back then, once or twice, he'd found himself jealous of how effortless it was for Takuya to persuade Kouji to be more of a social person, or how Kouji seemed to be at ease when Takuya hung out with him, or how well the two of them seemed to be able to work together. A silly thought it was, he'd realized later when Kouji ditched Takuya's birthday party in favor of keeping him company when their mother was hospitalized.

Takuya was always Kouji's best friend, but Kouichi was also his twin brother. Takuya wasn't the one Kouji would randomly call up after school to share random happenings of the day with, Takuya wasn't the one Kouji would gladly take countless train transfers to visit, and Takuya definitely wasn't the one Kouji would allow to cuddle him when another nightmare occurred—_of Duskmon, of failing to defeat Cherubimon, of a miracle that didn't happen and Kouichi who wouldn't open his eyes back to lif_e—

It made him happy beyond words, though, that one time when Kouji and Takuya had a huge fight, and the two of them had separately came to Kouichi to ask for his advice—Kouji asking him because he had a habit of letting Kouichi in every single element that made up his life, and Takuya because, as the brunette said simply, "You and Kouji are both my best friends, but really, you know Kouji better than I do and Kouji knows you better than I do, so what do you think I should do now?"

That was the time he realized how important Takuya and the others had been to him.

He remembered, the time when he told Izumi that she was probably the most important girl for him after his mother, and how Izumi had blushed and awkwardly laughed, chiding him because _that sort of thing should only be said to a girl you like, Kouichi-kun_! The pause that followed the statement had been a long one, in which Kouichi could only think how dear Izumi was—_to him, to Kouji, to Takuya and Junpei and Tomoki_—and how she had taken a great care of them all, almost like a Mother herself, and suddenly the words were out of his mouth even before he could think of it.

Izumi paused, then said with a hesitant air around her: maybe they should try. Maybe it'd work out. There was nothing to lose anyway.

He thought he saw Izumi's eyes flicker to where Takuya and Tomoki were flying the kites, but the girl was already taking his left hand and giving it a good squeeze, before grinning up at Kouichi and told him with bright, bright eyes the green color like the deepest lake: _I really like you, Kouichi-kun_!

It took Takuya two months, two weeks, five days and twelve hours to look Kouichi in the eye; gaze hard and determined and at the same time full of guilt, asking him to let Izumi go because Takuya was helplessly head over heels for her.

Next to him, Kouji gave a quiet laugh, Junpei looked at Takuya in horror, Tomoki gaped, and Izumi turned a pretty shade of red to the tips of her ears, before standing up and demanding Takuya to shut up. Kouichi had laughed himself, albeit a bit uncertain, because even though Izumi had been his girlfriend, nothing had changed between them (except the occasional hand-holding, but even that felt odd to Kouichi for some reason). He sat down with Izumi by the end of the week, had the talk for about an hour, and gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek when the talk ended.

He let her go. And she went. It wouldn't work, would never work, because both of them knew that Izumi would always be Takuya's girl until the end.

The week following their break-up had been interesting, but Kouichi would be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed it. Tomoki gave him random calls, asking if he'd like to go out to play and get some ice cream, while Junpei kept inviting him to come over for movie nights. Takuya couldn't quite decide whether he should be happy or guilty and had bugged Kouichi endlessly asking if there was anything he could do for Kouichi and throwing apologies one after another. Then Kouji threw him a good punch to make him stop apologizing, and Kouichi had laughed, amused, before telling him that it was really okay and he'd be very happy if Takuya would stop being a wimp and ask Izumi out already.

After Takuya had left, Kouji had turned and dragged him back to the living room, muttering that he was going to get back the times Kouichi had spent ignoring him and indulging Izumi the past two months. They spent the whole night up playing games and talking about nothing, stealing midnight snacks from the kitchen and had a small feast. He was pretty much amused at the whole situation—despite what the others might have thought, he wasn't actually broken-hearted after the break up, but to have his friends and brother showering him with exaggerated attention endlessly was very nice. He decided to just enjoy it while it lasted, in the end.

"Earth to Kouichi!" Takuya's voice and Tokiya's waving hand right before his eyes drew him back to reality. He blinked, laughed a little at the odd faces the two boys were making in their efforts to snap him out of his reverie. They were crossing the Odaiba Bridge now; the anti-gravity SUV making a comforting hum as it maintained its pace. Kanpei sat on the front with his Dad, while Kouichi himself and Kouji had taken the rear seat, leaving the rest of the three sitting in between.

"You," Takuya said with all seriousness in his voice, "are totally out of it, man."

Kouichi softly smiled—he'd been too engrossed in reminiscing about the past that he didn't even notice they almost arrived at Odaiba Sea. Tokiya threw him a bright, excited look as he pointed out of the window, voice tinkling with naïve happiness as he urged Kouichi to pay attention to him. "Look!" Kouichi could clearly hear the giddy note in Tokiya's voice. "We can see the tower from here!"

True enough, when Kouichi leaned forward to peer out of the window, the Odaiba Sea Tower stood majestically in the center of the amusement park—the roller coaster track looping on its background, and the ferris wheel was just off to the side. Most of the amusement park was still obscured by the skyscraper buildings, but at least they could see the beach from there; the sea a color of dazzling blue, sparkling under the gentle winter sun, enchanting all eyes that happened to fall upon it.

Kouichi paused when he felt Kouji moved next to him, their shoulders touching as the long-haired boy leaned closer to have a proper look of the park. For some stupid reason, warmth flooded his chest then, and he suddenly wanted to kick himself.

"Let's go here again on summer next year!" Suzumi declared, cheeks tinted with a shade of red as her light brown eyes danced, indicating the barely contained excitement in her chest. "We can go swimming!"

"That's a good idea!" Takuma agreed instantly, and Kanpei's expression turned into a dreamy one. "Man, that means I can see Suzumi-chan in swimming suits!"

They all laughed; even Kouji's lips twitched up into a smirk.

Understandably, the roller coaster was their first choice of ride; the adrenaline rush and high tension providing a great start for everyone to unwind. Apparently once was not enough, Suzumi of all people suggested they go for a second round. And go they did, shrieking their way along the roller coaster track as their scarves flapped and the winter chill bit through their jackets, and if anyone noticed the remnants of terrified tears on the corner of Kanpei's eyes, they never brought it up. Takuma managed to win a teddy bear at a shooting stand, proudly presenting it to Suzumi who chose to give the bear to Tokiya, who later offered it to Kouji thinking the sullen boy would cheer up a little. Kouji had sputtered at the unexpected gesture, and it was such a phenomenon even Kouichi couldn't help but chuckle.

That day, smiles and laughter were exchanged, grins stretched from ears to ears, with voices blanketed with so much delight they were like tinkling bells of summer, and the honest happiness dancing in different pairs of eyes. It was almost like a celebration of being alive, and maybe it was, in its own way. They were young and happy and so full of life it blinded Kouichi at times, but it was also unbelievably warm to be there among them he couldn't think much about it anymore.

"I'm glad we came here today." Tokiya said into his gloves much, much later when the sun was a little past the point above their heads, eyes peering up at Kouichi who was sitting next to him. Kanpei and Takuma had just gone off to the Haunted Mansion, dragging Kouji along as they made a bet to scare Kouji shitless. Suzumi had excused herself to buy some drinks, and seeing the long line at the closest vendor, Kouichi supposed it would take her some time before she could return with their drinks.

Kouichi gave him a small smile. Bundled up in white and green winter jacket with a long, obviously hand-knitted scarf in the same color rounding his neck and a wool hat atop his hair that was pulled down so low it covered his ears, Tokiya seemed a bit bigger than he usually looked. The younger boy looked up and gave him a hearty grin, a shade of red spreading on his cheeks and nose, most likely caused by the chilly winter wind. "It's cold."

"It is," Kouichi agreed, adjusting the old scarf he had on, accidentally brushing his fingers on Kouji's—_his_ Kouji's—old yellow-and-blue bandanna. He ignored the almost sinking feeling on his stomach—the longing that pooled somewhere deep inside his chest had started bubbling up since the day he met Minashiro Kouji, and sometimes it became unbearably painful. Silently casting a gaze up to the sky—it was cloudy today, the winter sun peeking shyly from behind white clouds drifting lazily like cottons—he took a breath, letting the icy winter air fill his lungs to drown the dull ache pounding to the beat of his heart.

This warmth that enveloped his entire being just moments before—it would end up hurting him in the end, when he had to watch these kids leave. And it simply wasn't fair, not to _his_ Kouji, not to Takuya and the others, because they can never be replaced by anyone, and Kouichi's heart really had not the ability to love any other person anymore. He'd divided his heart into five pieces, and each had gone with the death of his brother and best friends, and he didn't think he had anything left to love.

"Kouichi-san?" the tentative tone underlining Tokiya's voice was what brought him back to earth, and he looked down to find a pair of worried green eyes—_so identical to Tomoki's, to the same exact shade and the innocence they held_—peering back at him. The corners of his mouth automatically turned upwards to make a bland smile. Tokiya obviously didn't find the smile reassuring, because he then tilted his head thoughtfully and said: "It's very nice to spend time together like this, isn't it?"

He said it the way someone who knew the whole situation would say, all knowing and surprisingly confident. Kouichi was about to open his mouth and lied with a smile that yes, it was very nice to spend time together with them like this, but Tokiya beat him to that. "At least Kouichi-san really looks like you're having so much fun. I've never seen you laugh so much before."

There was no chance to react to that, even if the statement left him dumbfounded—laughed so much? Had he _really_ been laughing?—because from the corner of his eyes, he caught the familiar figure of Kouji walking towards them briskly, mouth set into a scowl that didn't seem as threatening as when Kouichi first met him. Tokiya waved him over, looking puzzled since the long-haired boy was alone.

"Where's Takuma-oniisan and Kanpei-san?" Tokiya asked, once Kouji sat on the bench next to Kouichi. "Didn't you all go into the Haunted Mansion?"

"I ditched them." Kouji shrugged, looking irritated, but Kouichi was amused to see the slight humor in his eyes. "They kinda freaked out halfway through and bolted God-knows-where. Probably still inside, flipping out and scared half to death."

Tokiya laughed, the sound rich and warm, before jumping up to his feet. "Then I'll go wait for them at the exit!"

"Make sure you tell them they owe me dinner." The smirk on Kouji's face was smug and achingly familiar. Tokiya gave a salute, grinning so wide Kouichi wondered if his cheeks would hurt later, and took off.

Then it was just the two of them, and the tension returned. It grew, thick—like blood, Kouichi thought, and wasn't it appropriate because they were of the same blood? Except this Kouji wasn't _his_ Kouji, and he should really stop being carried away with this temporary, blinding, yet painful hope.

Even though the proximity between them was nothing that a stretched arm could not bridge, it felt painfully far away.

"Seriously, what is it with you?"

What made him flinch was not the question itself; it was more the half-annoyed, half-angry tone sneaking into the long-haired boy's voice. He turned his head a little, keeping his gaze down—if he stared into those eyes that were so identical to his own, he would probably lose himself right then and there. Nonetheless, he replied, quietly, "What do you mean?"

Kouji leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and Kouichi was glad the other boy seemed so determined to keep his gaze ahead, locked onto the people milling around—the little kids running, unhindered by the freezing air, the couples of teenagers wrapped up in thick jackets pressing close and giggling as their hands entwined intimately, parents chasing their kids with weary faces that spelled happiness nonetheless. Mundane, every day things, and Kouichi found himself following where Kouji's gaze landed. He had long forgotten how it felt to be a part of those ordinary things.

"You're weird." It was odd, to hear the thin frustration hidden in Kouji's voice. Kouichi wondered why it was he could recognize the subtle tones and gestures this Kouji used, even though this wasn't _his_ Kouji, and it was just so… _unfair_. "I mean, you're originally weird, coming out of nowhere saying that you're from the Digital World and asking us to fight."

A child tripped and fell down face first in the crowd; her mother quickly bent down and pulled her back to her feet even as she started to bawl.

"But you're—even now, you're weird. You'd… you'd do things, and gets all protective of us so many times, and you'd tell us to get closer. You'd do that, you'd get close to us, and yet…"

Kouichi swallowed, fingers raising to touch the bandanna tied on his arm; a desperate attempt to find reassurance and retaining the calm demeanor.

"Yet you're—see, you're doing it again." The clipped statement made him wince, and Kouichi couldn't help but to raise his eyes only to find identical midnight-colored eyes looking back sharply at him. There was frustration in Kouji's gaze—and a little bit of anger, and... was that _desperation_? But why? Head suddenly reeling, Kouichi had to clear his throat (it felt sand-papery all of a sudden) before croaking out, "Doing what?"

"That. Being distant, drawing away!" Those midnight eyes narrowed, a familiar death glare that Kouichi knew never had an effect to him. "You've been laughing the whole day, obviously enjoying yourself, but now you're doing it again. Seriously, what is it with you?"

His first instinct was to bite back—_why do you care?_—but Kouichi managed to wrench his eyes away from the boy almost identical to him, blinking back the heat that had suddenly burnt the back of his eyelids, and turned his head another way. What came out, though, was a weak, "I don't own you any explanation."

He thought he could see Kouji's face turned a shade of faint red—not necessarily by cold, because _his_ Kouji's face usually turned that shade of red when he was angry but this wasn't _his_ Kouji so it _could_ have been the cold, couldn't it—and it suddenly felt like he was thrown back in time, years and decades ago, one time where Kouji's eyes had turned angrily to him, snapping out as he had rebuked him with biting remarks. Everything was exactly the same: the biting winter air, the somber winter sky, Kouji's hair blown playfully by the winter wind, unkempt without his bandanna, and Kouji's expression—his face, his eyes, his gestures—

Years. Years, and decades upon decades ago.

-o0o-

_He'd forgotten his bandanna at home, having sprinted off the house the second he heard the news over the phone. It didn't even matter now—he was lucky he'd had the sense to snatch his jacket at all, or the other boy would be pissed seeing him out in the chilly winter with just slacks and t-shirt. By the time he'd arrived at the subway, puffing out white mist as he panted for breath, face pale with exertion and panic._

_Two pairs of identical midnight eyes met, and he visibly deflated with relief. It didn't last long, though, because his brother threw him a sheepish grin from his seat on the waiting bench, surrounded by a teenage girl and two other younger boys. The childish part of him flared rather unexpectedly, giving life to unreasonable irritation._

"_Why is it that you always have the need to test whether the gravity is working or not?" he was surprised himself when the words came out in a near growl—but he had been scared. He'd picked up his cell phone expecting his brother's voice to greet him, but instead it was an unknown girl's, telling him that his brother had fallen down the stairs at the subway closest to his home on his way to visit him and was unconscious. It was the worst kind of déjà vu, and he had expected his nightmares to come alive that very second—of watching his brother on the patient's bed, unmoving, unseeing, not breathing, and would not breathe ever again._

_His brother frowned, a graceful narrowing of his eyebrows. "Kouji…"_

"_I'm so sorry!" The girl—he recognized her voice, she was the one who called him earlier—bowed low and started babbling, seemingly flustered at his angry tone. "My brother was losing his balance when he ran down the stairs, and your brother was trying to help steadying him, but he lost his balance and fell down instead—but don't worry! He was unconscious for a while, and I found your number on his wallet, listed as emergency number so I called you, but there was a doctor just now. He left already, but he made sure there's no concussion… just a sprained ankle, and I'm so, so sorry!"_

"_It's really nothing, Kawamura-san," his brother—too good for this world, really—chose to smile reassuringly at the girl. As if he hadn't been the one with a sprained ankle. As if he hadn't been the one who collapsed and scared Kouji out of his wits. Kouji watched, as his brother sent the girl away with reassuring words that she didn't need to pay him back for his help, and even waved them with a grin. Only then did he comment, admittedly snarkily, "Of course, falling down the stairs and knocked unconscious is nothing."_

_His brother turned him a steady gaze. "Look, Kouji, I know you're upset, but…"_

"_Upset?" his voice rose higher than he intended, but hell if he cared. He was terrified, and his brother just couldn't see that, could he? "I asked you to call me once your train arrived so I can pick you up, but all I got was that girl telling me my brother had an incident. Sure, Niisan, that's a stupid thing to get upset about, isn't it?"_

"_I never said that. And I told you that you don't need to pick me up. It's not like I'll get lost on the way to your house."_

"_No, but you might just fall and kiss the earth and decided to never come back, is that it?" he bit out, channeling the fear left in him out as sizzling anger. "I'm your brother, Niisan, I'm supposed to keep an eye out for you, worry about you, protecting you!"_

_Then for the first time in his life, he saw his brother's eyes turned cold; traces of hurt and anger dancing like a winter blizzard. The words that followed chilled him, hitting him hard like a thousand tons of bricks, piercing his very existence because deep down, he knew. He knew that his brother was **right**, and he was overreacting—had been since that fateful incident where his brother sacrificed himself to keep all of them alive._

"_I'm not weak, Kouji." The tone was clipped. It scared him even more. "I don't need you to protect me."_

-o0o-

The tension was broken completely when Kouichi abruptly rose to his feet.

"I'm—going to help Suzumi-san with the drinks."

Then he was gone, leaving Kouji to blink. His brain was working too slowly, sluggish like it had just dig something really old from the deepest archive of his memory, and it left his mind reeling—what was that he'd just remembered?

_And more importantly, did he make up at all with his brother?_

Frustration bubbling up his throat, Kouji made a '_tch'_ noise and leaned back, covering his eyes with a hand. It was getting more and more frequent now, those flashbacks. Flashes of memories he didn't feel like belonging to him, flashes of feelings he never remembered having before. He would be thinking odd thoughts afterwards, as if the flashes really had been happening to him. It was frustrating, because he knew very well he didn't have any of those memories happened to him before. And he certainly didn't have a brother. Also, why the hell was his in-memories brother wearing Kouichi's face?

It didn't make any sense. He'd never met Kouichi before this whole Digital World incident. And yet…

A hand raised up to touch his chest, as if he was trying to physically feel the indescribable feelings whirling around inside right now. Those flashbacks—they always left him feeling disconcerted, giving him so many feelings that never had anything to do with his current situation. The other day, it left him with a strange feeling of missing someone, and he suddenly felt this weird urge to call Kouichi just to check on him. Or maybe tell him what was going on in his everyday life. For days, the feeling made him unsettled. Now, the flashback left him with a strong urge to reach out and keep Kouichi close—an almost overprotective feeling, a bit of worry, and this inexplicable fear gnawing at him.

None of it made sense. It made him frustrated. Kouichi was the one distancing himself away from the group—even Kouji had started becoming more open and relaxed at the presence of the other chosen children—so why did it have to be him who felt uneasy and agitated?

-o0o-

When she saw the huge red, fiery sphere that was the sun kissed the horizon line from the highest point of the ferris wheel—the six of them seated comfortably in the compartment watching layers of reds-oranges-yellows spreading out the blue canvas that was the sky—Suzumi felt a contented smile blossomed on her face, and couldn't think of the last time she had had so much fun.

Oh, it was still noisy, all right. Takuma and Kanpei couldn't seem to shut their mouths up more than five seconds, and Tokiya for once looked indescribably happy and enjoying himself he was even laughing loudly. Kouji was still Kouji, with that almost permanent scowl on his face that Suzumi had already gotten used to—she had even been surprised herself when she came to think Kouji's petulant manners were somewhat adorable—but at least he never resorted to anger anymore when Takuma and the others bugged him endlessly (not that it had stopped Takuma before, particularly, but still). They had come together pretty well as a group of mismatched kids, and Suzumi liked to think the three months they had spent fighting and hanging out together had forged some kind of a bond between them.

Perhaps it wasn't yet a strong one, but she would like to strengthen it together with them, too.

Her eyes, glided to the opposite corner of her seat; Kouichi wasn't watching the sunset like the others were, he was watching the rest of them with a small, soft smile on his lips. A smile that slowly faded, and Kouichi's expression slowly turned somber. Thinning her lips, Suzumi fought hard not to blush—under the soft orange rays of the setting sun, Kouichi looked… _ethereal_. Like he was not someone from their world—okay, technically he wasn't, but Suzumi's point stood. He was—beautiful.

She cast her gaze downward, feeling heat crawling up her cheeks and spreading to her ears, and fervently wishes that no one would see it. No such luck, because next to him, Takuma suddenly shifted and glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Suzumi? You okay?"

"Huh? Um—yes, of course I am, ahaha!" But her answer came out stuttered, and it had drawn the others' attention. She tried hunching her shoulders, wishing she could escape her friends' curious eyes, but Takuma was leaning closer.

"Really? Your face is really red, y'know? Feeling okay?"

"I—I am okay, Takuma, really!" The boy raised one hand, though, trying to touch Suzumi's forehead, and instinctively Suzumi batted the hand away, flustered at the noises the others made. "Takuma!"

"Hey, I was just concerned!" The boy scowled thinly, leaning back on his seat. Suzumi straightened, lower lips jutting out a little, and Kouichi really just had to choose that exact time to voice out his concern: "You're not running a fever, are you, Suzumi-san?"

"I—" before she could finished, Kouichi was leaning forward, swiftly putting one hand on her forehead. She froze, feeling the heat on her cheeks intensified she wondered if her brain was on fire, but Kouichi leaned back, nodded in a way a doctor would after checking his patient, and said, "No, your temperature's normal. Maybe it's the cold wind."

"U-um. Yes, it is, hahaha." Suzumi bit her lips, willing the heat to fade, and averted her eyes from Kouichi's. She turned to Takuma, about to chide him not to do anything weird again, but stopped when she saw Takuma's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

_What?_

The boy was crossing his arms, stubbornly looking outside the window, and next to him Kanpei looked like he was more than a little angry. She could feel the atmosphere changed abruptly—the two most lively members of their group were disgruntled, and she didn't even know why. So she laughed, trying to lighten the atmosphere and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to have some ice cream after this? Kanpei, you wanted some didn't you?"

Just like that, Kanpei brightened. Takuma didn't, but the tight look on his face faded, and the atmosphere returned to normal.

In the end, the night was growing pretty late when they all dropped Tokiya in front of his house (or rather, the gate). Suzumi had wanted to be dropped by the station first—she _really_ do have a reason for not wanting to be anywhere near Tokiya's house, mainly because the name _Himi_—but what could she do? Tokiya's parents were strict, and she didn't want the younger boy to get in trouble again for being late, so she hadn't protested when they passed the station and stopped at the Himi residence.

"Thank you very much," Tokiya bowed to Kanpei's dad through the car's opened window, just as the huge gate of his house opened. A boy their age appeared, dressed in simple yukata—an older and stricter and more confident version of Tokiya—and bowed to Kanpei's dad. Suzumi let out a surprised gasp, grabbed Takuma's arm and forcefully shielded herself from view.

Takuma made an odd noise in his throat. "Su—Suzumi?"

"Nothing," she hissed, eyes fixed at the boy as he neared their window, presumably to tell them thank you for looking after Tokiya. "Just. Don't let him see me."

"…uhh. Okay..?"

"Good evening." The boy bowed again, and Takuma straightened, shielding Suzumi so she can't be seen clearly. Kouichi, having heard and seen Suzumi's odd behavior, took control of the situation: leaning forward and smiled at the boy.

"Good evening. Ah, we're Tokiya's friends."

"Yeah, I've seen you guys the last time you were here. Didn't get the chance to say hi, though. Thanks for looking after my brother. I'm Yuuta."

"No, it's really our pleasure." Kouichi neatly sidestepped the introduction. "We have to go really soon before it gets too late, so…"

"Oh, of course! Sorry I kept you back. Thanks again!"

"Bye, everyone," Tokiya chirped; happiness still radiating around him and it was just so contagious the others couldn't not chirp back their goodbyes and see-you-laters. Only then did Kanpei's dad maneuvered the car and swiftly left the Himi residence.

And only then did Suzumi let go of Takuma's arm.

"What was that?" Kanpei demanded, curiosity won the best of him. "It's just Tokiya's brother, Suzumi-chan."

Suzumi fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, and laughed uncertainly. "Sorry. I'm—uh. I know Himi Yuuta-kun, and—well. We go to the same school, so.."

Kouichi tilted his head, but it was Kouji who spoke up. "Why didn't you greet him if you know him?"

"It's… not that simple. I—you know, the day when we all met…" she could see the station; good, she would be the only one getting off the car at the station so she could avoid more curious questions. She knew she had to at least give them a satisfying answer before she was gone. "The day we met—well. I was a wreck, right? Himi-kun kind of…. Um. I—when I confessed to him, he rejected me."

"What?" the chorus came from both Takuma and Kanpei.

She grinned. "Nah, it's fine. I'm not really that hung up on him. It was just a crush—he's the most popular boy in school and I think every girl at least fell for him once. " A smile blossomed on her face. "Besides, thanks to Kouichi-san, I could stand back up on my feet in no time."

Kouichi seemed surprised. "Me?"

"Because you gave us the Spirits." She ducked her head, trying not to blush again, but her efforts were in vain. It was pretty dark though, so hopefully no one saw her red face. "I'm not the smartest or the prettiest girl in school, and I almost always do something wrong. When Himi-kun rejected me, I feel really upset. I thought no one would ever like me, being a useless girl that I am, and no one would need me to do anything. But then I met you, along with Takuma and the others, and you said you needed us. I thought I was going to blow everything up again, but you said we did very well and—" she peered up at Kouichi, smiling gratefully. "It's… very nice to think that I could finally do someone good. Thank you, Kouichi-san."

She left it at that, because they had reached the station and no one had the chance to speak up. She bowed to Kanpei's dad, and gave the rest of the group a goodbye wave. She felt nice, and content, and glad that she could finally told the others about how she felt. It was certainly a bonus that Kouichi waved back, smiling softly at her.

"We all need you, Suzumi-san."

She treasured each and every single one of his smiles, so the happiness bursting in her chest was not inexplicable. She brightened visibly, a faint shade of red spreading on her face both in delight and a touch of shyness, and she laughed—a sound so happy she barely recognized her own voice.

"Thank you, Kouichi-san!"

None of them noticed the tight line of Takuma's lips, or the slight disgruntled expression on Kanpei's face.

-o0oendchapterfouro0o-

A/N: Oh boy, this chapter is terrible. I think I messed up the pace, and did a lot of perspective changes. I don't usually do that. ;A;

So, uhh. Leave me some reviews and tell me what you think? I'd love it if you give me some con-crits, since I know I hadn't done my best with this chapter, but honestly I can't think of any other way to make this better. And my teeth hurt so bad ;A;

Thank you for reading, please stay tune for the next chapter!

-isumi'kivic and Ilde-


	6. Past and Present

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. Hints of one-sided OC-Kouichi and OC/OC because it's necessary for the plot.

Rating: Gen, I swear I'm keeping it gen. –forces down the KouKou fangirl inside-

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

Warnings: Possible OOC-ness, grammar errors, and for this chapter: flashbacks ahoy!

A/N: Late again, ugh. Sorry, I'm trying my best. Not going to make up excuses, but if you wanna know, my home internet died, which means I can only use it in campus. Had to wait until Monday to post this. That, and my year is planning this huge Sociology Urban Art Festival, in the midst of massive research, and guess what? I'm the event-planning division's coordinator. So yeah, updates would probably take a bit longer, but it shouldn't take more than two weeks top, promise.

Random thought: So I named my OCs similar to Takuya and the others to make it easier for people to remember, right? The other day I just thought: _**Tomoya**_ is a good name, easier to remember than _**Tokiya**_, and it sounds closer to _**Tomoki**_, too. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT. :| I feel so much regret, I dunno.

Also, each chapter seems to get more and more insanely longer. ;A; I have no idea how that happened, sorry this is so long, guys. I swear I didn't mean to. Anyway, I'd be glad to know people are still reading, so please leave a review or two to tell me what you think.

Please enjoy this chapter!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Chapter Five: Past and Present**

What Kouichi didn't understand was why their group dynamic seemed to grow even worse after the supposedly team-bonding trip to Odaiba Sea Amusement Park.

Kabuterimon was, naturally, a very dangerous enemy. Even more so when Lowemon noticed the almost impossible speed the Digimon used to fly around them, dodging their attacks and causing more damages to their surroundings. It was taking too long, Lowemon mused as he jumped out of Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker, taking time to analyze the sheer raw power behind the attack that seemed too powerful for a Kabuterimon. They were in a dense residential area, and the police would get here soon, and their presence would only make things more difficult.

"Everyone!" he shouted out, halting the other kids' movements as they turned their attention towards him. "Try steering him away from the houses and apartments, but be careful! We need to move before the police come!"

Wolfmon grunted his confirmation, and charged with his Licht Sieger to engage Kabuterimon in close-combat. He pressed, slashing through Kabuterimon's lightning attacks and pushing down onto the digimon's horn, trying to steer him away from the residential area. One particular powerful clash of his light sword with Kabuterimon's electric-charged horn pushed him back, making him stagger, just as a blur of red shot off past him.

"Salamander Break!"

A fire tornado visibly formed as Agunimon spun himself, attacking Kabuterimon with spinning kicks. Kabuterimon roared before speeding back, away from Agunimon, and charged his Electric Storm. Agunimon halted, gritting his teeth and swallowing back curses, then lunged again for another attack, this time Burning Salamander, just as Kabuterion released his Electro Shocker.

The two attacks clashed and exploded in the air.

"That idiot!" Wolfmon growled, and the corner of his eyes caught Lowemon and Fairymon leaping up towards the explosion, obviously intending to help the Warrior of Flame. Below, Chakkmon swiftly moved to put off the remnants of fire, keeping the battle area from damaging the residential area further. Way up there, Blitzmon had pushed Agunimon out of the explosion's blast, and was shouting at the Warrior of Flame about how careless he was.

Kabuterimon emerged from the smoke, blasting off electricity, and they all had to leap out of the way. Agunimon tried retaliating with Fire Darts, nearly hitting both Chakkmon and Lowemon in the chaos; and Wolfmon was quite fed up with it. He was about to charge towards his friend and give him a good punch, but Lowemon was already there, backing off Agunimon with the back of his staff. The sight sent a chill down Wolfmon's spine—he had never seen the usually gentle Warrior of Darkness looked so angry.

"What are you trying to do, Agunimon? Kill yourself and us all?"

Agunimon impatiently swatted the staff away. "Shut up, Lowemon, I know what I'm doing!"

And he did just that, blasting off another Burning Salamander towards Kabuterimon, who was engaged in a close-combat with Blitzmon. Fairymon swooped down just in time to push Blitzmon out of the way, and Agunimon's attack hit the enemy head on. It roared painfully, the data shimmering around its body, and Agunimon sent a smirk towards Lowemon before leaping off and scanned the data.

The battle ended with Chakkmon's soft mutter, "Just now... that could have hit Blitzmon… right?"

**-o0o-**

"Honestly, Taku," Kazuma frowned, obviously not liking the bruises his brother was sporting when he came home with Kouichi in tow. "Can you really fight? I'm sure you didn't have that much bruises the first time you fought a Digimon."

Takuma grinned. "It's a proof of a Hero, Kazu-nii."

Kazuma sighed, absently taking out the first aid kit. His eyes glided towards Kouichi, who seemed too silent since he stepped into the house—now that he thought about it, he didn't think he'd seen him talking to Takuma since both of them were home. Regardless, he set down the kit next to his brother and yanked Takuma's arm, ignoring the younger boy's yelp of pain.

"Do you need help?" Kouichi asked quietly from across the living room, looking a bit hesitant. Kazuma waved the offer away, but gestured Kouichi to sit down on the couch closer to them. Eyeing the younger boy he'd come to see as family member—he had difficulties looking at Kouichi as someone younger than him, though, perhaps because the boy was far mature than kids his age should be—he inquired back. "Were you hurt at all, Kouichi?"

The boy hesitated a little, then shook his head. "No, nothing serious. I've taken care of them." He moved, sitting down on the couch Kazuma gestured. Takuma made a noise at the back of his throat, and Kazuma was rather surprised when he realized it was meant for Kouichi.

"Kouichi wasn't at the front line, of course he won't be hurt that bad."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow, suspicion slowly rising. Were they fighting? He carefully applied some cream on Takuma's bruise, opting not to say anything. But it was Kouichi who narrowed his eyes and said with a clipped tone, "You were being very reckless, Takuma-kun."

Takuma shrugged. "So? We won."

"You could have hurt everyone, and yourself."

"Yeah well, at least I was doing something instead of just telling everyone what to do!" Takuma retorted, obviously not pleased with the chiding tone Kouichi used on him. "We got rid of that Kabuterimon in the end anyway, nothing turned out wrong didn't it?"

Kazuma paused, looking even more confused when he caught Kouichi's eyes turned cold, the corners of his lips curved downwards showing his displeasure at Takuma's attitude. "You're lucky Kouji hadn't had the time to punch the hell out of you. Did you even think what would happen if your attack had hit Kanpei instead?"

"It wouldn't! I didn't aimlessly throw attacks!"

"It could have, Takuma-kun! If Suzumi-san hadn't—"

"That's enough!" Kazuma closed the first aid kit with a loud clack, startling the arguing teens. He gave the two of them a stern look, before standing to put away the first aid kit. The room was silent the whole time; apparently the two younger teens had opted for an intense glaring match. Kazuma mentally sighed, preparing himself for another argument with his brother. As much as he believed and loved his brother, he also knew Kouichi had a reason for being that angry, and if his brother really was being reckless (and unfortunately he really could see that, proven with the increasing bruises, too), Kazuma needed to put a foot down on the matter to make sure Takuma wasn't putting himself in self-made danger.

"Taku," he began, admittedly a bit annoyed that his brother refused to break his glaring match with Kouichi. "Seriously, I think you shouldn't be so reckless. It's dangerous stuff you're doing, and…"

The younger Kawabara snapped his gaze back to his brother, looking angrier than before. "I was not being reckless! I did what I had to do—Kazu-nii you don't have the right to say anything! You weren't even there!"

Kazuma scowled. "I damn well have a right to say something about this if what Kouichi said was true. You're still a kid, Taku—"

"I'm not, and stop treating me like one!" Takuma rose to his feet, face colored deep red and he looked _livid_. "You want to stand by Kouichi? Fine, then don't talk to me!"

"Taku!"

Just like that, and the younger Kawabara stormed off the living room. About three seconds later, they heard a door slammed shut. Kouichi sighed audibly, seemingly resigning himself for a night on the couch. Takuma wouldn't bother to open the door even if he knocked. Kazuma's lips twitched in a tight smile, trying to reassure the younger boy.

"It's okay. He'll steam off before dinner and apologize to you later, I'm sure."

Kouichi gave a strained laugh.

His brother was such a kid sometimes, the elder Kawabara thought as he leaned back, frustration etched on his face. After several moments of silence, he glanced at Kouichi. The younger boy didn't seem to want to open a conversation, but there were so many things Kazuma wanted to know. He knew Kouichi would answer truthfully—and Kazuma didn't want to pry about unnecessary things anyway.

"Oi, Kouichi."

"Yes?"

"…." He could physically felt thoughts whirling in his head in vain attempts to be organized. There were many things he wanted to ask—_about his brother, about how their group was doing_—but in the end what came out of his mouth was a simple question, "Do you have any siblings?"

A long silence followed. Kazuma wondered if he'd just asked something he shouldn't, and was about to open his mouth to tell Kouichi not to think about it, when the answer came.

"I did."

Kazuma paused. He—did? Past tense... Oh shit. "…I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Kouichi shook his head, smiling wistfully. "He—well, it's been a long time ago."

"I see." And because the atmosphere didn't seem to turn bad, Kazuma continued, almost absent-mindedly. "What was he like?"

"Mmm.." Kouichi had drawn his feet up, hugging them close to his chest. "Lots of people said he was a cold jerk. Aloof and mysterious."

"Bet he had lots of girls fawning over him."

Kouichi chuckled. "I suppose. He was actually very sweet, though. He could get a little overbearing and overprotective sometimes, but then again so do I."

Kazuma tilted his head thoughtfully. "Sounds like you had a great relationship with your brother." Sighing again, he leaned back on the couch in a defeated manner. "I'm a bit envious."

Kouichi gave a soft smile. "You have a great relationship with Takuma-kun yourself don't you, Kazuma?"

"He's a total brat, though."

"He idolizes you." Kouichi paused, and chuckled. "You reminded me of my friend and his brother, back then. They fought a lot—he complained all the time and got angry so easily with his younger brother, but ended up protecting him anyway."

"…really." Kazuma couldn't help but laugh along. He swallowed back other curious questions—_did you have other friends, why do you talk in past tense about them, how long ago was it exactly when you said back then, why do you act so much mature than other kids, why don't I feel like talking to a kid with you_—instead throwing Kouichi a grateful look.

"Thanks, for taking care of Taku. If you need any help—"

Kouichi smiled. "You're one of the people I'd first go to for help, Kazuma."

The elder Kawabara grinned, pleased with the trust Kouichi had placed upon him.

**-o0o-**

Kouichi was taking a call. From Suzumi. Again.

Takuma scowled, mentally cursing his brother for buying Kouichi a cell phone. Suzumi had taken to call Kouichi more and more often, either to say hello or asking about unimportant things, and he did not like that. It sounded childish, to get angry at his friend because the girl he liked seemed to prefer his friend, but there was nothing he could do about it. If he was irritated, then he was irritated. End of story.

Intentionally stabbing the edge of his study table with a pen, Takuma tried to tune out Kouichi's small voice replying to whatever it was Suzumi was saying on the phone. Kouichi and he were in some kind of a truce after yesterday evening's fight—he hadn't exactly apologized, but he did say that he felt bad and it seemed good enough for Kouichi. It wasn't quite unfair, he knew, to unleash his anger at Kouichi. The guy was only trying to keep the group safe, thus his anger at Takuma's reckless acts, but Takuma didn't really have any other choice. Fighting all out was one of his only few good points; it had to be the only way to make Suzumi notice him.

At least he wasn't boasting about how popular he was at school like Kanpei had been doing lately. Not that he had enough popularity at school to tell tall-tales of, but he could see Kanpei wasn't impressing Suzumi much that way. Suzumi had liked Tokiya's brother, and Tokiya had told him that his brother was a cool person. So all he had to do to get Suzumi's attention is acting cool, right? Being a hero was cool—protecting his friends, albeit by doing slightly more rash actions, that should be fine, too, right? Nothing had gone wrong, and Takuma doubted it'd ever be. When he became Agunimon, the raw power that surged through his being was just _that_ incredible, he felt invincible sometimes.

He had to show Suzumi how much stronger he could be, compared to Kouichi. That way, Suzumi would look at him.

He glanced at Kouichi again from the corner of his eyes—Kouichi was absentmindedly folding a crane while responding to Suzumi; really, it was Suzumi calling him of all people! If he were the one Suzumi called, he would be putting his whole attention to what she was saying, instead of folding some stupid cranes. He sniffed, turning back to his table and started carving random shapes onto the edge of it. This was getting boring, and he was getting more and more irritated. He needed to—oh, that was right.

He did have someone to talk to, albeit that someone being slightly harder to reach. There was no harm, though—he'd done this once before, in mere curiosity, and it had left him breathless and exhausted he's gone to sleep for nearly ten hours, but tomorrow was Sunday anyway. Kazuma always let him sleep past midday on Sunday.

So he concentrated, muting out Kouichi's gentle drone on the phone, closed his eyes and reached deep into himself.

There was Agunimon, as always, his presence warm though radiating off amusement and sympathy when Takuma passed him by. It wasn't Agunimon he wanted to reach though, so he probed deeper, trying to pinpoint the familiar spark of soul that surged out to guide him when he evolved. Takuya's soul was always bright and warm, reminding Takuma of sitting right next to the fireplace on snowy nights, and his presence literally exuded confidence and optimism. He wasn't hard to find.

'_Really, you're going to be so exhausted, Takuma-kun!'_

"Yeah, well. You said it yourself I could visit you anytime I want." His smile grew at the figure slowly materializing in the back of his eyelids. He could see Takuya now; not perfectly, still a bit hazy, because he hadn't yet mastered how to control the full power of the Digivice—how to utilize the access to the power of the two souls inside it, as Takuya once put it. The previous wielder of Spirit of Flame was grinning at him.

'_True, true. We both need to figure out together how best to communicate without draining you.' _There was amusement dancing on Takuya's eyes, and he put a hand behind his nape casually, obviously feigning innocence. _'So what's up?'_

Takuma sniffed. "Yeah, act like you have no idea what's happening, Takuya-kun. I bet you had a good laugh all the while I was trying to tune Kouichi out—hey!" He burst out indignantly at Takuya's good-natured laugh, flustered. "You may have a good laugh, but don't laugh about that in front of me, geez!"

'_Eeeh?'_ Takuya looked up, still laughing. _'But it's cute, you know. I like seeing people get jealous irrationally.'_

"Shut up." Takuma resorted to sulking, and Takuya's soul practically glowed with mirth.

'_Aaaww, Takuma-kun, it's not that bad. It's not like Kouichi really likes Suzumi, right?'_ the boy shifted to sit down crosslegged. _'Besides, you're doing it wrong. You're not gonna get anything out of acting reckless—well, not anything other than more bruises.'_

Takuma groaned. "Ugh, don't you start, too." He paused, and looked at Takuya curiously. "What about you? How did you fight, when you wield the spirit of Flame?"

'_Me?'_ Damn, now the other boy sounded smug. _'I was the leader, you know. Somehow.'_

"Reeeally…"

The disbelief in his voice must have shown clearly, because Takuya straightened up to look at him square in the eyes, all seriousness and firm. _'Really. I didn't become a leader straight away; it took a lot of things to happen before I could really do what a leader was supposed to do. It wasn't about being the strongest in the team; it's about doing what's right for everyone.'_

Takuma's lips thinned. "Are you saying that I'm can't be their leader?"

'_The Spirit of Flame wouldn't have chosen you if you lack the ability to be a leader.'_ Takuya grinned. _'I think Kouichi knows that, and that's why he's giving you room to try things out in battles. But you're still learning—everyone's still learning. That's why you do those reckless things. You'll get the hang of it eventually, though. This is a necessary stage, I think.'_

"…so you're not going to stop me from doing reckless things yourself? Even if you could literally take over my body and do it your way?"

'_I don't really like dominating what originally isn't mine. It's your body. Besides, I've told you before, I'm just a remnant of Takuya's soul. I'm Takuya, but I'm not whole. I don't know about you, but I think it isn't really safe for a body to function without the whole soul—that's probably why you get so tired whenever I come out.' _He paused, thoughtfully. _'Unless you're about to kill yourself or someone else, I'd rather not take over.'_

"I know my limit. Kouichi's just freaking out over nothing. He frets all the time, you know."

'_Hahaha. He's a natural mother hen, Takuma-kun. He can't help it.'_ The corners of Takuya's eyes were crinkling, and Takuma noted the touch of nostalgia in his voice. When the previous wielder's eyes opened, fiery brown eyes meeting Takuma's again, the gaze they held was that of a fondness. _'Kouichi is sometimes just too gentle for his own good.'_

The current Spirit wielder couldn't hold back the curiosity sneaking into his next statement. "You sound like you've known him all your life."

This time, it was amusement shining in Takuya's eyes. _'Well, maybe I have?'_

"Whatever, you guys are so weird." Takuma inwardly rolled his eyes. A comfortable silence fell upon them, and distinctly, the younger Kawabara could feel Agunimon's gentle presence watching over them; his flame an easy companionship, a promise of power to protect. For once, after what seemed like a very long time, Takuma felt content. Enough to finally raise a question he'd been hesitant to speak up: "Have you ever liked someone, Takuya-kun?"

Takuya's eyes positively danced. _'Sure I have. She dated someone else for months until I grew enough guts to ask her out.'_

"That's lame." But Takuma's voice held an admiring tone.

'_Well, you know. It's much like siblings relationship—love, that is. Trial and error.'_[1] The previous spirit wielder halted so suddenly on his words as his face contorted into a frown. Takuma could see worry and fear etched faintly on his physiognomy, and the silence stretched on for moments, before Takuma felt the push.

"Wha—"

'_You're seriously exhausting yourself. If you stay longer, you'll sleep like the dead for two days straight. Go back, Takuma-kun.'_

"Eeeh? But I'm okay, here!" The push was growing stronger—Takuya was definitely trying to kick him out. Unfortunately, he was feeling stubborn today, so Takuma mentally willed himself to stay. It worked, at first, until he felt another force joining with Takuya's, trying to push him out.

Agunimon. Takuma groaned, feeling somewhat betrayed that the Spirit of Fire decided to aid Takuya, when it was him who currently wield the spirit.

"Fine, fine, I'll go." He resigned sulkily. Slowly, he fumbled to detach himself from their link, feeling himself slipping away and reaching back to the surface of his consciousness. Before he left completely, leaving the warmth that was Agunimon and the fiery determination that was Takuya, he paused, giving them a small smile.

"It's actually very nice to have someone to talk to this way. It's convenient."

He could see Takuya brightened. _'I won't be here forever, so don't get too used to it.'_

And then Takuya's face blurred back into darkness, just as sheer exhaustion seeped his whole strength out of his body. Slumping forward onto the table, breath coming in short, soft pants, Takuma closed his eyes, focusing to even the rhythm of his breath. He could already hear Kouichi striding closer towards him—could actually feel the other boy emitting an atmosphere of worry, and for a second he felt a little bit guilty.

Kouichi was just worried, after all.

So yeah, a little bit guilty. Just a little bit. Because the fact that Suzumi paid so much attention to the dark-haired boy still pissed him off.

"Takuma-kun?"

"M'fine."

Kouichi was hesitating, Takuma could feel it.

"If you say so."

Takuma groaned, half in annoyance and half in fond exasperation.

**-o0o-**

Of all places, Kouichi didn't think he would spot Kouji at the temple ground he usually passed on his way home from the shopping district or the supermarket.

Kazuma had finally relented and let Kouichi took over the responsibility of grocery shopping by himself. Takuma had long ceased his habit to accompany the Spirit of Darkness' wielder everywhere just to make sure he wouldn't get lost and that he would know what to do with the advanced technology Kouichi seemed to always fumble with. It had been around three weeks since Kouichi started going back and forth to the shopping district by himself, and he was actually quite proud to be able to adapt fairly quickly with practically everything. The transportation system that had confused him at first such as the sky monorails and airbuses already felt like second nature now, and he'd been picking up more and more English faster than he'd ever been. It was kind of hard not to be when everyone around him often used English in every day conversations, much unlike his days more than a hundred years ago.

The downside of everything was, he was starting to miss the world that he knew. The world of a hundred years ago. He supposed it was why he kept stopping by the little shrines and temple grounds, because those buildings seemed ageless. Sure, there were still touches of new, advanced technologies even in the corners of shrines and temples, but they were noticeably way fewer than anywhere else. He especially liked temple grounds—most temples had shrunk now due to lack of space, but some temple grounds had remained, complete with the huge, old cherry blossom trees and vast graveyard (that seemed to be rapidly filled up as years gone by anyway, Kouichi had noted when he absently stared at the different dates and years etched on the stones and woods). He liked being there, wasting time watching the old, seemingly ageless buildings still standing strong. It reminded him of a lot of things back in his own time, soothing the sense of homesickness a little.

The jinja[2] he'd often stop by on his way home from the shopping district was fairly deserted; it was a corner of the city that was almost forgotten, standing strong amongst the tall apartment buildings surrounding it. Located on a hill with old, chipped stairs, it hadn't attracted many visitors, but Kouichi had met several people when he was there, all looking for some kind of reverie from the hectic and rushed urban life. He'd met the priest there once—an old, gentle-looking but actually rather stubborn man—who told him that the jinja would actually be full of people at times like Hatsumode, hanami, or obon[3] and summer festivals. He'd spend some time there, thinking or reminiscing, or simply reaching deep into himself to feel the warmth and comfort of Lowemon. Once or twice, he'd even go and write his wishes on the ema[4], and get his fortune by looking at omikuji[5]. It wasn't that he was a religious person—he hadn't ever been—but the ritual oddly comforted him. It was something he knew since a long time ago; something he'd once done with _his_ Kouji, something his mother had once taught him when he was little, something Takuya and the others used to be excited about.

Meeting Minashiro Kouji there was a surprise. Not only because he knew Kouji lived rather far from the jinja, but also because the boy was sprawled under a tree, a cat in his hold as a little girl who looked like she was about to cry stood close, fretting. Kouji's face was tight, as though he was fighting off a grimace that was threatening to break his composure.

"_Gomen ne, Oniichan_…"[6] the girl was positively sobbing, droplets of clear crystals running down the curve of her chubby cheeks as she babbled out apologies. "It's my fault, and oh, Shirotan was being bad and that's my fault, too… waaaah!"

It was rather funny, to watch Kouji's face torn between pain and awkwardness of not knowing what to do. Obviously he had no experience in handling a crying little girl. Kouichi, on the other hand, had more than enough experience being Uncle Kou (and really, the girl kind of reminded him of Aki) and dealing with little kids. So he calmly went towards them, putting a hand on the little girl's shoulder gently as he asked, "What's happening?"

Both Kouji and the little girl looked up, but Kouji was the one who seemed obviously surprised. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Kouichi shrugged, raising up the hand holding the grocery bag. "I stopped by here whenever I can. That should be my question."

The girl's eyes flitted from Kouichi to Kouji, for a moment looking awestruck. Large burgundy eyes examined Kouichi's form from head to toe, then fell back to Kouji before the owner's expression changed into one of an astonishment; a shade of enthusiastic red spreading on her cheeks as her eyes widened, tears forgotten for a moment.

"You're twins!" she exclaimed, awed. "This is my first time seeing twins other than in TV!"

Kouichi visibly flinched, but he caught Kouji's shift nonetheless. It was the usual movement of crossing his arms, creating a barrier between himself and the world. Ignoring the sudden burst of pain welling in his chest, Kouichi forced a smile, and lowered himself to his knees to look at the girl straight in the eyes.

"We're not twins. He's a friend of mine, we just happened to look alike." His smile turned somewhat sad at the disappointed face the girl made. If _his_ Kouji had been there, this girl would surely grin in excitement at seeing twins for the first time in her young life. But Minashiro Kouji wasn't _his_ Kouji, and he can never replace his brother even if Minashiro Kouji was practically an exact copy of _his_ Kouji. Swallowing the sudden tightness in his throat, he tried glancing at Kouji to see how he would react, but Kouji was staring at the ground, oddly looking thoughtful.

Back to the problem at hand, then. "So what happened? Why did you cry?"

"Oh!" The girl, reminded of her problem before her previous excitement, once again made an expression that was dangerously close to sobbing. "I—my cat was up there on the tree, and Oniichan here was helping me, but then Oniichan fell down and I think he's hurt. Please, please help this Oniichan, please? I'll help, too, I'll call my mom, I promise! I'll be good!"

Oh. That explained the tight face Kouji was making—he was probably fighting off pain. Concerned, Kouichi turned towards the long-haired boy, noticing how one of his hands had wandered down to clutch on one ankle while the other was still holding the cat. He deftly plucked the cat from Kouji's hold, giving it back to the little girl, and gently patted her head along doing so. "It's alright; I'll take care of this Oniichan now, okay? You can go home, so you won't make your mom worried."

"But—" the little girl hesitated, and Kouichi couldn't help but laugh. It was nice to see a girl at such young age feeling a sense of responsibility and concern over someone who was injured. He let his fingers fussed over the crooked little bow adorning her head, nodding reassuringly.

"It'll be fine. I'll meet you here tomorrow and I'll let you know how this Oniichan is doing, okay?"

Just like that, and she brightened. "Okay!" Facing Kouji, she bowed low, expression so grateful like Kouji had just saved a million lives. "Oniichan, thank you for saving Shirotan! I promise I'll take care of her real careful this time!"

And then she was gone, ushered by Kouichi's reassuring smile and Kouji's absent wave.

They were alone, just the two of them, again. The tension that Kouichi had grown familiar with whenever he was alone with Kouji hung between them, thick and uncut. He could feel Kouji's eyes intent on his figure, as if trying to unravel something secretly etched inside Kouichi. Purposefully averting his eyes and focusing at the sight of the now swelling ankle, Kouichi tentatively poked the injury. He was instantly rewarded with a sharp hiss.

"We're going to need some ice," Kouichi said, nodding to himself while still averting Kouji's gaze. "Where do you live, Kouji?"

"My grandma's house is close from here. I was visiting—my Mother's there too."

"Right." Kouichi shoved the grocery bag he held into Kouji's arms, turning around to offer his back. "Come on, I'll take you home."

The glare Kouji gave him was a mix of uncertainty, embarrassment and indignity—it was something Kouichi hadn't seen for so long, something he'd missed seeing in his brother's face so badly that he couldn't help but laugh, albeit a little bitterly.

**-o0o-**

Kouichi's back was, unexpectedly, strong. And warm. Okay, maybe Kouji was just getting too comfortable, but to be honest he hadn't expected Kouichi to be able to give him a piggyback ride, all the way to his grandmother's house. The boy was built too lean, his body was slender like a girl's, with limbs that looked rather fragile compared to Kouji's muscled ones (thanks to all the trainings he had to keep up with in taking kendo, of course). If it were Kouichi who had long hair, Kouji was sure he would often be mistaken as a girl.

But now the Spirit of Darkness' wielder was carrying Kouji on his back, his shoes making a staccato rhythm steadily as they hit the pavements. He stopped once in a while to balance Kouji on his back, then continue as if Kouji hadn't weighed a pound. The long-haired boy kept his silence except to give directions, but to be honest, he really was getting a bit too comfortable. Kouichi's back was warm, and his hands supporting Kouji's legs felt reassuring—almost like a promise that he wouldn't let Kouji fall.

It felt—oddly safe.

**-o0o-**

"_I'm fine, Kouji, it's nothing." Again, a pair of stubborn eyes the same exact color as his looking up, determined to refuse his help. "I can walk."_

"_You twisted your ankle." He watched his brother's attempt to stand up, only for it to result in his brother's face turning into a grimace and his leg gave way for his bum to hit the ground. Exasperated, he groaned, turning around to offer his back. "Come on, Niisan, don't be so stubborn. Here, climb on."_

_Eyes obscured by dark fringe—his brother's hair was getting longer, Kouji should convince him to cut it soon—the older twin mumbled, "Why am I always the one troubling you?"_

_He paused, throwing an incredulous look. "Since when are you troubling me?"_

_They exchanged smiles, and his brother relented, climbing on his back. Like his brother hadn't weighed a pound, Kouji carried him home._

**-o0o-**

"Hey—" he spoke up even before he realized it; probably because his mind was reeling. It always did whenever those flashbacks assaulted him. He didn't even know what they were; premonitions? Memories? Of what? And who? "—shouldn't I be the one carrying you on my back?"

He could feel Kouichi stiffen. "Wh—what?" They'd halted; and Kouji noticed that his grandmother's house was just on the next corner. Silence reigned again, for several seconds, and Kouichi muttered then, "You're the one injured."

"… yeah I am." Closing his eyes, Kouji tried to stop what felt like whirlwind in his head. "The house just around the corner—with the black gate."

"That's your grandma's?"

"Yeah."

His stepmother almost freaked out when she saw them; understandably, because Kouji was hurt, but Kouji knew there was another reason his stepmother had frozen still for a minute right just as Kouichi showed up on their doorstep—something that had to do with how much alike Kouichi and Kouji was. Kouichi kept carrying him until they reached the bathroom, where his grandmother kept the first aid kit, and gave Kouji an uncertain smile before Kouji closed the bathroom door before him.

The pristine white floor under his feet felt indescribably cold.

Limping towards the bathroom cabinet, Kouji pulled out the first aid kit, trying to find the cream his mother used whenever any of the family members sprained an ankle. He sighed, sparing a glance to his surrounding—the small bathtub, the shower, the mirror. His hair was almost undone; the hair tie hanging threateningly from the edge of his ponytail. Irritated, he yanked it loose, letting his hair down for a moment before swiftly tying them again, tightly. Catching his reflection on the mirror, he paused.

Midnight-colored eyes, with the same dark shade of hair. Even their faces looked the same.

He hadn't really noticed how much alike he and Kouichi was until he really looked at his reflection in the mirror just now. Limping towards the mirror, he studied his figure closer—their built weren't that much different, Kouichi was perhaps a bit more slender, but that was because Kouji had kendo and built more muscles. Their eyes and hair were exactly the same color, and if Kouji were to cut his hair exactly the same style and length as Kouichi, no one could probably tell who was who.

_Like twins_, his mind prompted; a flash of the little girl's words and excitement blinked before his eyes.

Like twins. But he hadn't had one. He should have had one, or so his father had repeatedly told him (blaming him, he was sure), but that was a story he hated the most, a story that hurt his stepmother a thousand times too many, a story he wished he would never hear again in his life.

But Kouichi was just a random person coming out of nowhere, asking him to fight and tying him to the fate of the Digital World. Kouji made an irritated sound—since when did Kouichi start to appear in his flashbacks? He'd had them for years, long before the whole Digital World ordeal started, but they had never been near as vivid as they were now. He'd taken to think of them as figments of his imaginations, of how would his life be if he hadn't been born alone, or perhaps a punishment because he stayed alive while…

No. He didn't want to think about that. Being alive wasn't a sin, wasn't that his stepmother said a long time ago?

His fist clenched, questions whirling in his mind, an unseen storm that made him unreasonably bothered. When he got bothered, he got mad. Annoyed. He never liked any kind of turbulence in his life, and definitely didn't like the way Kouichi kept turning up in his mind thanks to those goddamned flashbacks. It wasn't like he hated the boy—no, he was actually more annoyed because he got confused with everything that had been happening to him. Only to him, he knew, because he'd asked Takuma and the others casually about flashbacks and none of them seemed to ever experience it. And God helped him, he had absolutely zero idea how to deal with this.

It wasn't like he could ask Kouichi about it. What would he say; _oi, Kouichi, I've been having some kind of flashbacks for years, but lately it got vivid and you were always in them, turning up as my twin brother, so why don't you explain to me what this is all about or I'm seriously going insane?_

He couldn't help it, feeling the tell-tale of anger and annoyance whenever he saw Kouichi. There was just—something not quite right at the way Kouichi act. Sometimes Kouji would have no problem at all about him, when the short-haired boy was laughing along with the others and seemed to be happy. But often times, when Kouichi wore that look—the one that seemed to speak a million stories about pain and loneliness and bitterness—or when the corners of his mouth twitched into a little smile Kouji couldn't bear to watch because it looked so sad, or when he started to make gestures that distanced himself from practically the whole world; Kouji would find himself unreasonably worried. Because it was unreasonable, it made him confused. And when he was confused, he tended to get angry more easily.

Kouichi was probably too used to see him getting angry by now.

**-o0o-**

"_Seriously, Kouji," his brother scolded gently, eyebrows furrowed both in concern and in exasperation. "You didn't have to yell at her. She was just five."_

_His glare, previously directed at the now sobbing five-year-old girl they were babysitting for the afternoon, softened when he turned to his brother, but his voice still held the irritated tone, "Doesn't anyone in her family tell her that it's dangerous to climb trees that tall? She could have broken some bones if she'd fallen from up there!"_

"_She's just curious. There are older boys around here who like to climb this tree, and she must have seen them a lot of times," his brother scooped the crying girl into his arms, petting her head like she was some kind of precious living doll in an attempt to calm her down. He sent Kouji an amused look. "I know you're worried about her, but don't yell. She doesn't understand yet."_

"_I—" he averted his brother's eyes, fighting the heat rushing to his face. His brother could always read him like an open book. "I wasn't worried. I was—I don't ever babysit, you know, I have no idea what to do if she'd fallen!"_

_At the sight of his brother dissolving into uncontrollable chuckles, Kouji's could feel his own frown deepening. He had been rather scared to see that little girl up on such a high tree, and really, he hadn't known what to do except to climb after the girl and snatched her, all the while yelling at the stupidity until he set her back on the ground. He was about to yell some more when the girl started crying—why the hell did she start crying anyway?—when his brother came up and scolded him. What was so funny about it?_

"_Really," a hand came up to ruffle his hair affectionately, messing up his bandanna in the process, and Kouji's frown slipped. He couldn't ever stay mad at his brother, could he? "You get angry so easily whenever you're confused. Temper, Otouto-kun, temper."_

_He chose not to retort on that, but instead let his brother mussed up his hair some more, watching the little girl's sobs gradually subsided. Then his brother looked at him in the eyes, and simply grinned happily._

_It was blinding._

"_Let's go get some ice cream, Kouji."_

**-o0o-**

"Thank you for bringing him home," a mug of hot cocoa was placed before him, and Kouichi smiled politely before curling his fingers around the mug, feeling the warmth seeping into his almost frozen fingers. It had started snowing outside, though according to the weather forecast he'd caught this morning, it wouldn't grow into a storm.

Kouji's mother was rather young—younger than Kouichi remembered Satome-san was back when _his_ Kouji first asked him to meet his stepmother. She had tender dark eyes the color of onyx stones, a kind, patient smile that reminded Kouichi of gentle nurses in the hospital, a slightly crooked nose that somewhat accentuated her sharp, high cheekbones; all framed by long, straight, silky curtains of dark brown hair. She was pretty—the way young mothers were pretty, Kouichi mused—but he could already see tired lines adorning the corners of her eyes and her forehead.

"It's no trouble. We're friends after all." Kouichi sipped the hot cocoa after Kouji's mother gestured for him to drink up. He should be going soon, Kazuma was expecting the groceries, but he didn't want to go home without knowing if Kouji would be okay. If he wasn't okay, then the next time a Digimon attacked, Kouichi wouldn't want to send him into battle.

Kouji's mother smiled. "I'm glad. That boy… is rather closed off. I'm afraid he doesn't make a lot of friends." Shaking her head, she chuckled. "He's never brought any of his friends home before."

"He's a good kid," Kouji's grandmother piped up from her place on the couch in front of the TV. "He's just naturally awkward. Doesn't know much about people and how to interact with them, see."

"I noticed," there, Kouichi had to force a smile. Odd, it felt like he was discussing _his_ Kouji, not Minashiro Kouji. Why did the two of them have to be so disturbingly similar anyway?

"You're a good kid, too, Kimura-kun," Kouji's mother said, dark eyes imploring with unrestrained happiness. "I might not be his birth mother, but I've taken care of him since he was this little—" she gestured to her waist, indicating Kouji's height when he was little. "—and I love him like he was my own kid. I worry so much about him."

Kouichi paused in sipping his hot cocoa, rather surprised. Minashiro-san wasn't Kouji's birth mother. He shifted, awkwardly—another odd similarity between _his_ Kouji and Minashiro Kouji. Was fate playing with him? Unsure how to respond to Kouji's mother's previous statement, Kouichi simply nodded. Minashiro-san seemed to assume that he and Kouji were the best of friends, and think Kouichi knew about her not being Kouji's real mother, anyway, so there was nothing he could do about it.

But the young mother seemed to take his nod as a cue to speak more. "And he's never been close with his father, either. Now don't get me wrong, dear, but his father is a good man. Responsible, really. He's just—a little bit unstable, sometimes."

"Unstable?" Kouichi's eyebrows rose. It was a word he never liked—a word that always made him picture something on an edge, wobbling dangerously as it tried to balance itself.

Minashiro-san nodded, sipping her own hot cocoa. "When he's stressed out, he goes out to drink a lot. Kouji hates it when his father gets home drunk—I can't say that his father treats him right when he's drunk—"

Kouichi started. "Wait—he doesn't… beat him, does he? Or you, Minashiro-san?"

The smile directed at him told him he was being silly, but it couldn't hide the wistful expression Minashiro-san was making, either. "Of course not. No, his father would never raise a hand towards us. He's a good person, Kimura-kun, don't misunderstand." She paused, and when she continued, his voice took on a rueful note. "It's just—whenever he gets drunk, he would tell Kouji over and over about how his real mother died giving birth to him." She sighed sadly. "And then he would tell Kouji about his twin."

Kouichi's entire being froze.

"…twin…?" he echoed, almost dazed.

"Ah, Kouji hasn't told you yet? Well, it's a rather sensitive issue to him, so I can understand."

"I thought.." his voice grew smaller, and his hands were shaking. Lady Fate really was playing with him, wasn't she? "I thought he's an only child…"

Minashiro-san smiled again, this time with a touch of bitterness. "He is. His twin was never born. You see, Kouji's mother was very frail. Her pregnancy was never smooth—one of the fetuses died before the pregnancy entered the fourth month, and she died giving birth to Kouji."

"A good man," Kouji's grandmother sniffed from her seat, but Kouichi could barely comprehend her over the whirlwind in his mind. "That son of mine is stuck in the past; marrying Mia-chan just so Kouji could have a mother. At this rate, he's going to destroy his own life."

"Don't say that, Mother," Minashiro-san murmured, and Kouichi could have sworn he saw her eyes turned misty. "I'm glad he married me, I'm glad to take care of Kouji. I just—hope he doesn't keep telling us stories of his late wife and unborn son. I think Kouji blames himself for being the only one alive." She turned to Kouichi, then, and Kouichi had to force his mind to still—_don't think about it, don't think about anything yet, just be quiet, don't think don't think don't think_—and she smiled, looking so grateful Kouichi felt a little guilty.

"That's why I'm really glad you've become his friend, Kimura-kun."

Kouichi swallowed, opening his mouth to say something—_anything_—but found words escaping him. That was exactly when another voice joined from the hallway, this time with a touch of anger, almost growling, "He's _not_ a friend."

Both Kouichi and Minashiro-san startled, turning to see Kouji leaning on the door to the kitchen. Kouichi shivered—Kouji looked positively _livid_, and his words just now had hurt more than he expected. The other boy was glaring daggers as he limped a little towards them. Minashiro-san seemed confused.

"You're telling him unnecessary things, Mom." He didn't take his eyes off Kouichi even as he said that, eyes narrowing threateningly. Kouichi refused to blink, either, but his mind had turned into chaos and he couldn't understand what was going on, and couldn't make sense of what he was thinking either. He opened his mouth, finding nothing coming out, and closed them again. His head was reeling, and the only thing he could comprehend was Kouji's glare.

"Go home." Those two words sent chills through Kouichi's very being.

"Kouji!" Minashiro-san protested, obviously not pleased that her son was being impolite. But Kouji didn't budge, instead intensifying his glare until Kouichi moved—almost like a doll—and rose to his feet. Minashiro-san scrambled to her feet, too, panicking. "Ah, Kimura-kun, please. It's okay, you don't have to leave."

"No, he's going to leave. " Kouji really growled this time. Dazed, Kouichi didn't move for a moment, just staying still to look into Kouji's eyes, recognizing something underneath the fury. Confusion, he realized, feeling something clicked into place in his mind. Confused. Minashiro Kouji was confused, and that was why he burst out in anger. But why? And why did it come so easy, to read Kouji like that?

This wasn't _his_ Kouji. _His_ Kouji was long gone.

The question left his mouth before he could even think about it. "Why are you so angry?"

"Because it's _none_ of your _damn_ business!"

"Kouji!" that was his grandmother, and her stern tone snapped Kouichi out of his daze. He straightened, and before Kouji's grandmother could continue to scold him, he grabbed his groceries and bowed at Minashiro-san, politely.

"Thank you for the drinks. I—I'll be on my way." His voice shook, and he hated it. His hands were shaking, too, so he clenched them, willing the storm in his head to just stop—just stop, for a moment, at least until he could get out of here, away from someone who looked exactly like his long gone twin brother, who acted exactly like him, who also had a twin but died before birth. He tried keeping his steps steady, smiling reassuringly at Kouji's family that it was really fine, that he needed to be on his way anyway—Kazuma needed the groceries—but he knew he was walking faster than his usual speed, as if he was trying to run, to escape, to—

Kouji's eyes hadn't left him until the door closed behind him.

Kouichi laughed, as his feet started running in abandon, feeling something bubbling up his chest. He didn't know what to make of it—it felt like his mind was going to explode from overload of information and emotions. The winter wind was freezing, and the snow kept falling lightly to the ground, covering everything in white, and it was cold, unbearably so, but Kouichi thought most of the cold came from the core of his being.

That night, he took out his late mother's pillow out of his backpack, took Kouji's bandanna off his arm, and clutched the two items to sleep. They still smelt a little of smoke—Kouichi wondered if the smell would ever be gone—and he quietly cried when he realized he couldn't smell his mother and Kouji's scent anymore.

He didn't dream of Kouji or his mother or Takuya and the others that night. Instead it was Lowemon, giving him a sad smile, and no matter how Kouichi stretched out his hand, he couldn't ever reach the Warrior of Darkness.

He woke up with tears streaming down his cheeks, feeling unbearably lonely.

**-o0oendofchapterfiveo0o-**

A/N: Dammit I love Kazuma so much. ;A; I'm sorry for his unexpected domination of scene, guys, I didn't even realize it, but I enjoy writing him so much. I like his interactions with Kouichi, so… yeah, not an excuse, I know. Sorry. And the Takuya-Takuma interaction was so not supposed to come up, but it came up anyway and it got so long. Sorry.

Um, right. Glossary?

[1] This line is actually some kind of reverse of Takuya's line, directly from… episode 33? I think. In a scene where Kouji was confused of how to deal with a twin that suddenly came out of the blue, Takuya and the others came in and reassurance. Takuya then said that siblings relationship is a little like love; in which Junpei added "Trial and error, right?" and Takuya went "Yeah, yeah, trial and error!". Something like that. It's a line I've been so amused of for so long. xD

[2] Jinja is shrines/temples of Shinto religion. From what I learned in class, Japan's religion system is rather unique—most of them combine Shinto and Buddhism together; so there are two kinds of temples: jinja is Shinto temples, and tera is Buddhist temples.

[3] Hatsumode: A ritual where Japanese go to the temple in New Year's Eve, usually midnight, to celebrate New Year and pray for good luck next year. Hanami: a tradition of watching sakura blossoms. Obon: A huge festival to respect the dead.

[4] Ema: a block of wood for people to write their wishes on, and then hangs on the provided place.

[5] Omikuji: A long strip of paper containing someone's fortune you can take in temples.

[6] "Gomen ne, Oniichan…" : "I'm sorry, Big Brother."

Also, most of you probably already knows but just in case: Oniichan, Oniisama, Niichan, Niisan, "insertnamehere"-nii—all of those are variations on calling someone 'big brother'. Replace those 'nii' part with 'nee', and you'll get 'big sister'. There are several more but I won't be using those, I think (Aniki, Aniue, Anego, Aneue—those are rather formal and distant :|). Otouto is little brother. :'D

Lastly, writing Kouji's POV is fun, but I don't think I have a good grasp on his character so forgive me if he seems OOC. Or any other characters in that regards. ;A; Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll stay for the next chapter. Reviews and constructive criticisms are much loved, flames will be ignored.

Thank you again!

P.S: Those of you who haven't, go watch Kimi to Boku. Seriously, most adorable high school students ever. –fawns over the twins-


	7. Of Friends and Advices

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. Hints of one-sided OC-Kouichi and OC/OC because it's necessary for the plot.

Rating: Gen, I swear I'm keeping it gen. –forces down the KouKou fangirl inside-

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

Warnings: Possible OOC-ness, grammar errors, and for this chapter: the nearly non-existent Kouichi, hahaha.

A/N: I made it! It feels nice to be able update on time. –is smug- Although this chapter isn't very exciting, and basically just laying down the outlines of the problems and backgrounds of the new chosen children. But it's rather important for the coming Kouichi+Kouji relationship later on, so please bear with me to get through this. :'D

For people who are just joining with us, welcome and I hope you're enjoying the story this far. (Yuutousei, hope you finished your paper, haha). I'd be extremely pleased to know what everyone thinks about the story, so please review? It's very nice to know that there are people who are still sticking with this story even though it majorly sucks, hahaha.

Enjoy, please!

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Chapter Six: Of Friends and Advices**

Whenever he called one of his friends to hang out, it usually ended up like this:

"_Yo, Kanpei, what's up?"_

"Nah, just wondering if you want to hang out? This book shop at the shopping district is having a huge sale on sports manga, and I know one of the employees so we might even get some free goodies!"

"_Seriously? Aww, man, I've some plans with Kouta and the others. We're going to see his brother's hockey match."_

The he would scuffle his feet; hope surging in his chest for a moment. "A hockey match, huh? That sounds awesome." He'd let the questions hung in the air—_can I come with you guys, why didn't you ask me to come along, I wonder if it's okay for me to come even though your group is rather tight-knitted_—because maybe, just maybe, this time they would finally ask him to go with the group. But Moriya's expression on his cell phone LCD didn't even change.

"_It is, isn't it? So yeah, sorry I can't go. But you can always ask others, right? They'd be excited to hang out with you! I mean, who wouldn't? Oh, try Shigure, I think he was whining about buying some new manga and how he doesn't have enough money…"_

But he had wanted to go out with Moriya. And Moriya's friends, because they seemed to be really close and simply fun to be with. There was nothing wrong with Shigure or the others, sure, but he had tried getting into their group some months ago and he couldn't seem to get in. And wasn't he and Moriya close, too? Hadn't he been hanging out with Kouta and the others, too, lately? Having fun together—playing baseball, going to game centers, hunting for manga, watching movies?

"… well, that's okay. Have fun at the match, Moriya! Give Kouta and the others my best too."

"_Will do, Kanpei. Well, see ya at school, then!"_

Once the call ended, he would sigh and wonder, why was it that even though he was popular, he couldn't seem to have close friends at all.

**-o0o-**

This weekend was one of those weekends when he ended up wandering around the town by himself, friendless. It wasn't like he didn't have any, but everyone had already had plans with their close friends, and that was what Kanpei didn't have. Close friends.

He wished he could make some.

He decided to wander around Ikebukuro, half-hoping to see the other Chosen Children in the ever-busy road. Dropping by the huge book store near the station bored him—there was no new book or manga he really wanted to buy anyway, and eating out by himself just sounded really lonely. He could always go to the batting dome, working out some more for the elementary school baseball spring tournament, but the last time they met, Suzumi had jokingly commented about how he was getting too bulky because he had more muscles than normal elementary school students did. Also, it was too cold for sports, and watching people bustling about doing their Christmas shopping gave him an odd lazy feeling.

Kanpei paused, taking a moment to watch his surroundings and figuring out where the heck he was. He'd absently wandered quite a distance from the station, but this part of the town wasn't really unfamiliar to him. He'd been here a lot of times; especially when everyone decided to drop Tokiya off at his house after a particular digimon battle. There should be behind a tall apartment building right around the corner of this road, one that had a small soccer field and indoor tennis courts. Tokiya's house wasn't far from the apartment. Maybe he could ask him to go out and have lunch, or something.

He didn't have to go as far as Tokiya's house, though. By the time he rounded the corner and was about to pass the apartment building's soccer field, he could see Tokiya's small figure on the sidelines through the fences, surrounded by several bigger boys—there were about five of them, seemingly Kanpei's age. They didn't seem to be fighting—one of them was carrying a soccer ball (apparently the chill of winter couldn't stop some kids from playing soccer. It was a good thing the apartment had the small field cleared of snow), the other had an arm around Tokiya's shoulder, pulling Tokiya closer and steering him into the field. If it wasn't for Tokiya's obviously tight face, Kanpei wouldn't have done what he did next.

"Tokiya!" His voice made the kids on the field turn around, and Tokiya just visibly brightened at the sight of him that Kanpei suddenly felt really glad he'd absently wandered around here. So he waved, gesturing Tokiya to come over quick. "Let's go, we're running out of time!"

Tokiya looked puzzled for a second, but fortunately caught on quick. "Eh..? Uhh, coming, Kanpei-san!" The smaller boy bowed to the other five boys, looking sheepish as he muttered something Kanpei couldn't hear, and quickly ran towards the exit. The other kids were watching them—they were rather disgruntled, Kanpei noticed, so he gave them an easy smile, waving them a goodbye as Tokiya approached him. Perhaps startled with Kanpei's sudden gesture, the rest of the kids waved back, albeit hesitantly.

He steered Tokiya away from the field, and let the smaller boy led the way once they were off the corner. They went down a path that led to a small shrine, stopping on the way only to buy hot drinks. The shrine had a small shelter and two rather large benches. Kanpei cleared the snow off the bench, before gesturing to Tokiya to sit down. Obediently, the smaller boy sat, and Kanpei followed. They opened their drinks at the same time, letting silence fall as they warmed up their fingers and drank.

Only then did the Spirit of Ice wielder give him a grateful grin. "Aah, you really saved me there, Kanpei-san." An arm raised to scratch the back of his head, Tokiya looked down. "They needed another player so they could play, and I accidentally passed by so they wanted me to join. And, well, it's not that I don't want to join, but…"

Kanpei didn't say anything when Tokiya faltered—a small voice inside his head was shouting _why didn't you want to join? At least someone was asking you to play with them!, _but that wasn't fair to Tokiya. Everyone had their own set of problems. So Kanpei was rather irked that people didn't ask him to hang out on weekends even though they hang out all the time on school days, but Tokiya also had his own share of troubling friends, didn't he? When the smaller boy didn't continue at all, he peered at Tokiya, and said seriously, "Were you bullied, Tokiya?"

"Huh?" Tokiya started. "No, not like that, of course! I mean, well—sometimes, but the older boys just now, they never bullied me. They were just… looking for another player."

"And you were forced to join, right?"

"I…." trailing off again, Tokiya seemed to decide that the best he could do was nodding his head. Kanpei frowned. He had known that Tokiya had a problem of speaking up to people, but he'd thought it was getting better. The younger boy was, after all, opening up so much more to him and the rest of the chosen children. The other day, Tokiya could even decline Takuma's offer of a movie night at the brunette's house. Couldn't he do the same to other people?

"Did you refuse, Tokiya?" he ventured, raising an eyebrow when, predictably, Tokiya stiffened, looking a bit guilty.

"I—didn't." He mumbled, watching his feet swaying back and fro. "I can't… really. Well. I—don't know how…"

This time Kanpei's expression turned surprised. "What, you don't know how to refuse?"

"I—I just don't want to disappoint them, or make them angry!" Tokiya's tone took a defensive note, and Kanpei could clearly hear the fear lurking behind his voice. "If… if I refuse, the people wouldn't like me, right? I already don't have many friends, I'm not good at many things like Kouji-san or Kanpei-san, I can't make conversations like Takuma-oniisan does, and I can't take care of people like Suzumi-san or Kouichi-san do—"

"Hey, hey, little guy," Kanpei raised his hands, a gesture asking his friend to calm down. Tokiya halted in his rants, and they stared at each other for a long moment, before the younger boy promptly blushed and stuttered out an apology. Kanpei laughed, because he wasn't mad at all. If anything, he was rather proud of himself; Tokiya was ranting out to him, which means the boy actually did trust him, and really, it kind of felt like having a close friend, yeah?

It was rather nice.

He patted Tokiya on the back, a bit roughly, because they were boys and Kanpei knew Tokiya could take it. "Listen, now, Tokiya," he began, leaning forward to balance his elbows on his knees and tilted his head so he could see Tokiya's eyes clearly. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you? Why'd you apologize?"

Tokiya stared at him, confused. "Because… I feel like I have to…?"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"… because I was… I don't know. I was rambling to you, Kanpei-san, and… didn't that annoy you?" The puzzled look Tokiya gave him was just astonishing, and Kanpei couldn't help but chuckle. Tokiya was still a kid, after all. A kid with a very low self-esteem, like Kouichi had said once to him and the others, and for some reason he felt like he should teach Tokiya some skill to make friends. Kanpei didn't have close friends, sure, but he was popular with the boys at school. Even girls liked to chat and hang out together with him (though sadly, none of them considered him as a potential boyfriend material), and everyone said he was fun to be with. That meant at least he had something he could teach Tokiya, right?

"Not really. It's actually nice to hear you tell me things about yourself. You know, Tokiya, refusing people things isn't always something on your not-to-do list." He made sure Tokiya was putting his whole attention to what he was saying, before continuing: "You can always refuse them without making them mad, you know. It all goes down to how you say it."

"How… I say it?" The kid was pondering his words, and Kanpei felt really proud of himself. Maybe this was how it felt to be an older brother?

"Yeah. See, Tokiya, you only have one problem: you don't dare to speak up what's in your mind. You should be more confident, since you're awesome and all." Kanpei laughed again when Tokiya's cheeks turned red at his praising words. "People would understand if you refuse to do something for them with a reasonable excuse. Now, why didn't you want to play with those guys just now?"

Tokiya squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Because… because it's too cold and I don't really like playing sports when it's cold. It gets really hard for me to breathe. And—and they're all so big, I would only get in the way because I'm small and then they would get angry because I'd make them lose and… and sorry, Kanpei-san, I really shouldn't—"

"There you go again," Kanpei chided. "You weren't doing anything wrong. I asked you, you give me an answer. It's just that your answer is longer than I expected, but that's fine, too." He leaned back, looking thoughtful. "Let's see. Why don't we go back and you can tell them why you didn't want to play with them?"

Tokiya paled. "Eh? B-but… but they'd… they'd get mad!"

"No they won't."

"What if they hit me?"

"I won't let them. Come on, I'll be right behind you."

Barely an hour later, Kanpei and Tokiya were sitting in a small ramen shop together with the five boys who forced Tokiya to play soccer with them before. They'd come back to the apartment building to find the boys playing shoots, and Tokiya had stammered out apologies for running away and not telling them why he didn't want to play. At first the boys looked a bit peeved—Kanpei didn't blame them, he would be kind of peeved himself if someone he asked bailed out on him without giving him acceptable reason—but Kanpei tried to help, rephrasing Tokiya's words when the boy stumbled on his sentences. The boys had looked at each other and acknowledged that they shouldn't have forced Tokiya to join them. The atmosphere was rather awkward then, so Kanpei chimed in, asking if they knew any ramen shop that'd be great for lunch. Next thing he knew, they were showing him the way, and they ended up having lunch together.

Tokiya was laughing at one of those boys' jokes, and they were having so much fun Kanpei just had to treat all of them to show them how happy he was. It was nice, to see Tokiya laugh without him having to force himself to make conversations, and Kanpei had a lively lunch, too. He would have to make sure to drop by more often around Tokiya's house, and maybe asked them out for games and stuff sometimes.

For now, he was glad he managed to teach Tokiya something.

**-o0o-**

She pursed his lips, because really, Agunimon was being absolutely obnoxious.

It didn't help that Wolfmon didn't seem to be in his best condition today; like he wasn't concentrating and zoning out in the middle of the battle. Blitzmon and Chakkmon seemed well enough; their attacks purposeful and direct, and perhaps they were even doing much better than usual. Lowemon was doing his usual things; she'd noticed his tendency to give them as much space as they needed for battle, preferring to give them directions and guide them rather than attacking the Digimon himself. She liked how he did that—giving them room to improve, to try what they needed to try, only making sure that they weren't in trouble or that the damages due to the battle didn't spread that far. Today he didn't seem to be doing as well as he usually did, but he still helped them a lot.

On the contrary, Agunimon was being literally an ass.

Her frown deepened when she caught Agunimon once again ignoring Lowemon's warning, and instead charging up to welcome Greymon's attack. This was the third Greymon they had encountered since the Spirits chose them, so Agunimon really should have known that he shouldn't meet Greymon's fire ball head on. That thing almost hit her once, and she knew how powerful that attack could be. She fought the urge to stomp her feet—that would be rather ungraceful for the Warrior of Wind to do—and instead sped towards Agunimon, preparing to push him out of the way.

Chakkmon beat her to that, and did it more efficiently by shooting up a wall of thick ice to block the attack. The ice wall cracked when the attack hit, and Greymon roared his fury, charging another fire ball—this time larger than she'd ever seen. Instinctively, she took a step back, raising her guard, and felt Izumi hummed in agreeing tone somewhere inside her. Yes, she was doing the right thing. This was the time to be careful.

"Spread around, everyone, don't let him catch you, don't stop moving!" Lowemon's voice drifted, the warning tone clear in his voice, and Fairymon slowly circled Greymon, keeping her distance. She could see Blitzmon, Chakkmon and Wolfmon doing the same thing; keeping their guards up. This attack wouldn't be like any other attack that Greymon had unleashed before—she knew they felt it too. Maybe she should prepare a wind barrier, just in case—

Izumi's next exclamation startled her: _'What's he doing?'_

She broke off her concentration and threw her gaze down, and saw Agunimon standing tall on a roof of a small shop, ready to attack even as Greymon turned towards him. She clucked her teeth, feeling a wave of panic crawling its way up to her throat. "Agunimon, what are you doing?"

"I'll end this." His voice was determined and firm and a chill went down her spine when she realized what he was going to do. He was waiting for Greymon to unleash his attack, and used that exact moment to shoot—that one sure moment where Greymon would be absolutely defenseless, and Agunimon's attack would destroy it completely. But that was reckless—Agunimon might not be able to leap out of Greymon's attack in time, and if that happened, then—

"Stop it, you'll get killed!" That was Blitzmon shouting, and she let her gaze find her other friends to see all of them agitated. They must have realized what Agunimon was planning, too. Greymon was roaring, and the fire ball would go right towards Agunimon and there was no way he could leap off in time and everyone was just too far away to push him out of the way—

Wait.

"Endlich Meteor!"

A ball of darkness surged down past her towards Agunimon, so fast she couldn't even blink and her mind reeled for a second—that was Lowemon's attack, wasn't it, why was he attacking Agunimon, what is wrong with Lowemon—and the next thing she knew, the attack had hit the roof Agunimon was standing on, and it collapsed, bringing Agunimon down with it just as Greymon unleashed his attack. Agunimon gave an angry growl as he lost his balance on the crumbling roof; Greymon's attack whizzing just right above his head.

It hit a nearby department store.

"Chakkmon!" was all Lowemon had to say before Chakkmon was already speeding towards the burning building, no doubt to put off the flames. Agunimon was still sprawled on the ground and against the shop's now ruined wall, pieces of bricks and roof all over him as he shouted angrily at Lowemon, "What was _that_ for?"

Lowemon spared him a glance, but Greymon was already moving again and he leapt off, doing a graceful maneuver on the air that made her heart skipped a bit both in fear and awe. He shot off another Endlich Meteor when Greymon turned his attention towards Wolfmon, diverting the enemy's focus as it tried to evade, letting both Wolfmon and Blitzmon charging up with their attacks.

She didn't want to be left behind, of course.

"Brezza Petalo!"

This time, Greymon didn't have the chance to evade their attacks—not from three different directions. It growled painfully as the circle of data shimmered around his body. Lowemon landed on another roof, whipping out his digivice and swiftly scanned it.

It didn't stop Agunimon from shouting at him in anger, making her eyebrows knitted in extreme dislike.

**-o0o-**

It was almost Christmas.

As he stepped on the last stone stairs of the jinja, Kouji let his gaze wander for a moment, exploring the whole place with his careful eyes. He didn't know why he stopped by the shrine again. Worse, he didn't really know what he expected, having coming here without thinking first. Did he expect Kouichi to be here? Or did he not want Kouichi to be here when he was here?

"_Look, Kouji," the person was smiling, gentle and soft and so ethereal Kouji wanted to reach out and kept him close, just to make sure he wouldn't just disappear. Maybe the whole near-death thing traumatized him more than he'd thought. But his brother just looked so happy, so… content, as he waved his own strip of omikuji, smile stretching into a grin as his voice touched the air. "Daikichi!"_[1]_  
><em>

Letting out a soft growl from his throat, Kouji mussed up his own hair, feeling confused and more lost than ever. The feeling itself wasn't new for him—the feeling of lost and not knowing where he was heading in his life had been constantly haunting him as long as he could remember. He had no clue why, but perhaps it was normal. Maybe everyone was like that—always feeling restless and never content, like they would be swallowed whole by the whole world if they ever stopped moving. It was rather extreme on his case, though. After all, feeling like something of you had been missing for your whole life wasn't exactly something that made you go through life with a breeze.

"Ah! It's you, Oniichan!"

Kouji turned at the voice, eyes widening a fraction at the sight of a little girl bundled up in cute yellow jacket and white pants, arms holding a rather familiar cat tightly and carefully. The girl's expression looked amazingly bright at such a somber winter day—where the sky was gray and the sun hiding behind white cotton clouds and everything was covered in white. She nimbly picked her way from the other side of the jinja, walking slowly on the snow-covered stone path towards Kouji, eyes alight with innocence that fit her white surroundings.

Oh yeah. That was the girl he'd helped with her cat the other day, wasn't she?

"So Oniichan is okay! I'm so glad!" She beamed up, promptly pulling Kouji's sleeve and steered him towards the jinja. The two of them took seats on the porch, and Kouji stared at the girl's dangling feet—noting the slightly wet edges of the pants absently. His own were rather soaked, too. He shivered, mentally chiding himself for going out without any scarf. Good thing Kouichi wasn't here, or he would probably—

"_See, this is what happens when you go out in the middle of winter without keeping your neck and ears warm!" Another blanket was thrown onto his shivering body, and a hand was touching his heated forehead. He coughed, feeling like he'd much rather greet Death than having cold and fever and forced to a full week of bed rest, but the hand on his forehead was cool and so comforting it made him didn't want to move. His brother was still chiding him; harsh tone masking the worried underlining notes hiding beneath the voice. That was okay—he could take that. He liked listening to his brother, after all, even if he was being lectured on scarves and jackets and fevers._

He shook his head. No, it couldn't be Kouichi in his flashbacks, he'd gotten nothing to do with the Spirit of Darkness wielder other than the Digital World business. He peered aside—the girl had stopped humming a happy tune, and she was already chattering about how worried she was.

"… and I kept real good care of Shirotan—" at this, the cat meowed, as if agreeing to her statement. "But I've just been very worried, since that other Oniichan—you know, the one that I thought was your twin, since you two look so much alike… anyway, he never comes here anymore even though he promised he'd meet me and tell me how you're doing. Or maybe he comes, but not when I'm here."

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "You've been waiting for him?"

"Yep! Every day this week I come here with Shirotan, but he's never here. I wonder if that Oniichan forgot?" her lips formed a cute pout then, and she started swinging her legs. "He's like an adult if he forgot. Mama and Papa, too, forget lots of things, and Mio-chan says when we get bigger, we'll be forgetting things, too."

Kouji opted to stay silent; really, he wasn't the best person to leave with a little girl who asked questions like this. What was he supposed to say? Kouichi probably did forget, knowing how he had that huge responsibility about the Digital World, but this girl had been waiting, too. "Well, I'm sure he didn't intentionally forget. That guy, see, he's been very busy lately."

The pout didn't disappear. "Yes. So are Mama and Papa, so I have to play alone."

Somehow, that made his heart constrict. They were lonely people, Kouji realized, and while Kouji's loneliness stemmed from different reasons than this girl whose name he didn't even know, it didn't change the fact that they were still lonely. It wasn't like Kouji loved being around so many people like Kanpei did, or loved taking the spotlight so people would notice him like Takuma. It was just—so far, no one could understand the partial emptiness he'd always felt his whole life.

As if someone had taken something from him even before he was born.

"…_ji… wake up…." A harsh cough brought him out of the dream land, and his eyes widened when he realized he could hardly breathe. What had happened? Why did the air feel thick, and why couldn't he breathe well, why was his brother coughing so hard? He reached out to touch his brother's shoulder, and his brother squeezed his hand before gesturing towards the door. Only then did he realize: there was smoke coming from outside the room._

_He'd had to get out. He'd had to get his brother out. There was no way he was losing his brother again, ever. Not ever again—he couldn't._

Kouji winced, trying to suppress the flashes of—what was it? Memories? Premonitions? Someone else's completely different life? He sighed, letting one hand rose so he could muss up the girl's hair. "He'll come around," he said, trying to reassure the girl, and wondered why it felt like a promise. "Besides, you know I'm okay, now, right? You don't have to come every day here."

"But I want to thank that Oniichan for helping you."

Had he even thank Kouichi for helping him? No, he'd yelled because the whole thing had confused him and it was pissing him off. Kouji scratched the back of his head, a subconscious gesture he made when he felt somewhat guilty. He hadn't been fair to Kouichi, had he? "Yeah. I guess I should, too."

"Then we can thank him together, right?"

Kouji let out an uncertain smile—the girl's smile was just too bright to face, especially when he was fully aware he would just get confused and angry at Kouichi again when he talked to the shorter-haired boy. But the girl seemed to take his smile as a confirmation of agreement, and simply beamed more brightly.

She didn't stay long in the jinja. When the soft flakes of white started drifting down from the sky, the girl quickly jumped down the porch, gave him a bow and fled down the stairs, going home. Kouji, on the other hand, simply retreated further onto the porch, pulling his legs so he could sit cross-legged. The snow wouldn't last long, he knew, he'd been watching the weather prediction lately. So he sat there, mute, watching the snowflakes slowly drifting down like the sakura blossoms in spring. Wouldn't it be nice, he mused, to watch the sakura blossoms here once spring rolled around? He wondered if this place would be full of people by the time, marring the jinja's tranquil atmosphere.

He liked sakura blossoms, though. Drifting slowly—five centimeters per second, they said—towards the ground, dancing in the air, riding the winds. Snow would melt if he touched them, but sakura blossoms wouldn't.

Sakura blossoms—they would—

_He opened his palm slowly, peering into his fist like he'd just caught a miracle, and was disheartened when he saw the sakura petal he'd tried to catch before was bent between his fingers. Had he clutched it too hard? Next to him, his brother was chuckling, melodious as always, as he bumped his fist softly against Kouji's before opening his palm, grinning in victory._

_The sakura petal his brother had caught wasn't bent. It was perfect._

"_You've got to move softer, slower, so it wouldn't crook in your fist." His brother explained gently, putting the perfect petal on Kouji's palm. He blinked, letting his finger trace the petal—the texture, the color, the softness. Perfect. Of course his brother could do it; Kouji had never seen someone who was so naturally kind and gentle and soft. His touch could mend what Kouji had broken, and—_

"Huh, Kouji? What are you doing here?"

The now-familiar voice snapped him back to reality—for a second his sight blurred, as though it was trying to adjust back to the snow-covered landscape that was his reality and not the warm spring afternoon with sakura blossoms swirling gently on the wind. It took him a moment to really focused on the figure standing before him, and another moment to recognize the person.

"… What do you want, Kanpei?"

The statement that escaped his lips was harsh, and even he winced at his own tone. Kanpei, predictably, flinched and took a step back, raising his arms as though telling Kouji that he meant peace. Kouji sighed, sneaking a hand up his hair to muss it up half in frustration and half in irritation at himself. These flashbacks were going to drive him insane someday.

"Chill, dude, I was just being a good teammate so I came over when I saw you." Kanpei tilted his head, and Kouji noticed the other boy was keeping his distance. "So anyway, why are you here? "

"Why can't I be here?" Kouji crossed his arms, looking a bit petulant now.

Kanpei grinned, shrugging good-naturedly. "Well, maybe because I know Kouichi often shops at the shopping district near here, and given that you seem to have been avoiding Kouichi lately… Oh that reminds me. Did something happen between you two?"

"Nothing that would concern you." Kouji bit out, frowning. He didn't like to be reminded of what he'd been thinking about before Kanpei came. "What are you doing here, yourself?"

With careful steps, Kanpei joined his friend on the porch, sitting a good length of arm away from Kouji. "Me? I was just wondering around, and when I realized it, it was snowing, so I came here for shelter."

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought you're busy hanging out with your friends, Mr. Popular. It's weekend."

At his statement, Kanpei turned rather nervous. He started fumbling with the edge of his scarf, letting out a strained laugh before scratching the back of his head. He wouldn't meet Kouji's eyes, too. "Yeah, well. Um. That, actually. Everyone's hanging out with their own groups on weekends, and I don't have one. If I have a group people would think I belong there exclusively, right? I don't like being exclusive and all, I'm more of 'everyone's friend' type, if you get my drift."

Kouji barked out a laugh. Now that was the most ridiculous thing he'd heard today. Seriously, why did people keep fooling themselves, spewing out excuses so that they didn't need to face their own failure? Being a loner made him a rather fine observant, and he was proud of that. Kanpei turned to him at the laugh, an inquiring expression on his face, but his question came out in a guarded tone: "What?"

The Spirit of Light wielder shook his head, shrugging. He liked to think they were rather special—the six of them. The only six people in the world wielding the spirits, holding the powers of six legendary warriors of the Digital World. They were chosen, and shouldn't the word 'chosen' indicated that they were special? And yet, it seemed that each of them was facing normal problems other children their age faced. Tokiya's low self-esteem, Takuma's stupid, obnoxious efforts of looking for attention and spotlight, Suzumi's shyness and obvious insecurities, his own feeling of not knowing where his life was going, and now Kanpei's apparent problem of making friends.

Then what was it that made them special?

"You know better than that, Kanpei." His voice didn't hold the biting tone anymore, but it was dead serious. "You're not wandering around by yourself because you don't want people to look at you like you're exclusive or something. You're just scared of getting by on yourself, even if you're perfectly capable of it."

Kanpei startled, turning to Kouji with wide, shocked eyes. "Wh—what?"

"You're easygoing. You make friends almost too easily, but that's why people think you don't need them. That's where you messed up." Kouji stared right into his friend's eyes, sharp. "That's why you don't have close friends, do you?"

Kanpei opened his eyes, seemingly ready—desperate—to object, but all that escaped off his mouth was a weak "I—"

"You're giving airs that you're happy being popular because you don't want anyone to walk away from you. Yeah, they won't, but they won't come closer to you, either. They think you're okay with the way you are, that they can't get closer because you're just that popular."

"I'm not!" Kanpei's face started to turn red—of anger or cold, Kouji had no idea, but he knew he was hitting a nerve. No, he wasn't being sarcastic or mean. This is his way of helping Kanpei, to make him recognize what his problem was, because people who kept running away from the roots of their problems were people Kouji hated the most, and he didn't want to hate Kanpei. They were comrades, after all.

"Then tell me, have you ever actually ask your friend if you could join whatever it was his group was doing? Or are you always waiting for them to invite you?"

"I'm—" Kanpei stammered, looking frustrated and furious at the same time. "I don't—what right do you have for saying that?"

"So I was right." Kouji smirked. "In the end, you don't belong anywhere."

"Shut up, Kouji! I don't want to hear that from you!"

He saw the fist swung first, and reflexively raised an arm to block the punch Kanpei threw him. Silence fell between them, punctuated by Kanpei's harsh, angry breath. Their eyes were locked still; tensed, angry gaze boring into Kouji's serious eyes, none of them yielding. The winter wind blew—rather hard this time—bringing with it the biting chill that made the hairs on Kouji's nape stood up. His arm throbbed a little; Kanpei was built of strong muscles and bulking energy, more than Kouji was. It was no wonder he could pack such a punch.

"Kanpei-san!"

It was the shock of recognizing Tokiya's voice that made the two of them sprang away from each other. Kouji absently rubbed his arm, reminding himself not to seriously piss Kanpei in near future. His friend was opening his mouth; an apology already shadowing his eyes, but the previous anger was still there. They could deal with it some other moment, though. Right now, their eyes turned towards the jinja's entrance, at the small figure that was Tokiya running towards them.

Kanpei's eyebrows raised. "Tokiya? What's—ummph!" He didn't get to finish his sentence when Tokiya all but collided into him. The older boy sputtered, and Kouji watched in fascination as Tokiya grabbed Kanpei's front jacket, bunching it in his small fists, eyes wild and expression desperate.

"What, what?" Kanpei let out, pushing on Tokiya's shoulders so he could get a good view of the younger boy's face. Tokiya's eyes were brimming with unshed tears; it was clear that he was panicking. Kanpei frowned. "Wait, why are you here, Tokiya?"

"I…" the youngest boy's voice shook, small fists shivering when he tightened his clutch on Kanpei's jacket. "Wh-what should I do… uhhh…"

Kouji cleared his throat awkwardly. He never knew what to do when someone cried. "Did you come here from your house?"

Tokiya nodded, opening his mouth to answer, but only got a sob out. He scrunched up his face in a vain effort trying to stop the tears, trying to force himself to string together a coherent statement. "I—used the digivice. Was.. looking for Kanpei-san, b-but…"

Kanpei's jaw went slack. "The digivices could be used as tracking devices?"

"What should I do…" Finally letting go of Kanpei's jacket, Tokiya furiously scrubbed his eyes, shoulders shaking. "I—I messed up again and.. uhhh. O-oniisan is g-going to be s-so m-mad…"

Kanpei put a hand on Tokiya's head, starting to look concerned. "What did you do?"

"I—he asked m-me to t-take care of his c-cacti… I-It's sup-pposed to be really e-easy, b-but I screwed up ag-again. U-uuuhh… wh-what do I do…? I d-didn't know why it d-died. H-he's going to b-be really angry a-and—"

Kanpei opened his mouth, and closed it again awkwardly. Silence reigned amongst the three of them for several moments, as Tokiya struggled to stop the tears rolling down his cheeks, swallowing his sobs with no apparent results.

"N-now, Tokiya…" Kanpei began unsurely. "I'm sure it's not that bad. He'll understand if you apologize, he won't get _that_ angry, right?"

"H-he's really scary when he's m-mad…!" Tokiya sobbed. "A-and I really am useless, I c-can't do anything on m-my own…"

"Okay, okay.." Kanpei was at loss. "Okay, tell you what, I'll accompany you and let's apologize toge—"

"Oh come on." Kouji's impatient voice cut whatever it was Kanpei was about to say, and they both turned to the Spirit of Light wielder. Kouji was staring at Tokiya seriously, like he was challenging someone his own age. "That's ridiculous, Tokiya. Look up, you're a boy. You're going to apologize because that's your responsibility, and if he gets mad, then you're going to face it, too."

For one-two-three seconds, no one moved.

"I—" Tokiya barely got a word out when Kanpei stood up, that intense fury coming back full force in his eyes. "Kouji! Seriously, why do you have to be an ass about things like these?"

"I'm just saying facts. Everyone is responsible for every mistake they make, and Tokiya isn't an exception."

"He's younger than us! You could have been easier on him!"

"Exactly that kind of thinking that got you nowhere, Kanpei!"

"What—"

The sounds of their digivices beeping in the same time cut their verbal fight short. Kanpei growled, angry, and took out his digivice in irritation. "What?"

It was Kouichi; words short and tone efficient, indicating danger lurking somewhere. "There's a digimon sighting in Ura-Harajuku. Come here as fast as you can."

Kanpei pursed his lips. "Okay, we'll be there." As the communication was cut, he turned back to Kouji, his gaze radiating anger that Kouji felt almost tangible. "I'm not going to fight with you, Kouji. Not when you're running away yourself."

The dark-haired boy bristled. "What—"

"Stop avoiding Kouichi, whatever it was that happened between you two. I don't need to know. I'll listen to you if you stop running away yourself." Kanpei narrowed his eyes. "Come on, Tokiya. I'll come with you to apologize to your brother later, okay?"

Tokiya started, having watched the two older boys' argument almost in a daze. "E-eh? Ah.. umm." He nodded anyway, expression turning thoughtful. When Kanpei fled down the stairs first, leaving him and Kouji who hadn't moved yet, Tokiya turned to the long-haired boy, a hand scrubbing away the last of his tears.

"I don't know why you're fighting just now, but…" he hesitated, and Kouji could see a small determination alight in the younger boy's eyes. "I—I think you're right, Kouji-san. It _is_ my responsibility and… and I'm a boy. I've got to stand up on my own feet."

Kouji smirked, albeit a bit strained, and shrugged. "Everyone makes mistakes. You're just a bit clumsier, so you make more mistakes, that's all. I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

The way Tokiya's face brightened at his words was enough to turn Kouji's smirk into a genuine small smile this time.

"Let's go, then."

**-o0o-**

Leomon's fist connected to his abdomen, sending him flying back almost seven metres, crashing into a nearby department store. People shrieked, scattering away from the battle area, and Agunimon groaned in pain, slowly moved to rise back to his feet.

'_That was ridiculously powerful,'_ he could hear Takuma murmur inside him, and felt the warning the previous wielder was giving him. Shaking his head, he growled. Powerful or not, this Leomon had to be scanned, and this time he was going to be the one who did so.

Not Kouichi. He swore, this time he would be the one defeating the enemy.

"Agunimon, are you okay?" From his place on one of the rails up there, Lowemon called out, a trace of worry hinting on his voice. He didn't get a chance to reply, though, because another blur of yellow and brown flashed before him, and the next second he knew, Leomon was right in front of him.

'_Shit!'_ Takuya cursed, and he belatedly raised his arms to defend, expecting the attack.

It never came. Instead, something crashed into Leomon from the side, blasting him with a powerful wind. Leomon made an angry noise as he regained his footing, staggering a little. Agunimon stopped breathing, because floating in front of him was now Fairymon, wings opened gracefully as she faced Leomon, movement fluid as if she was the wind itself, having blasted the enemy away from her friend.

"F-Fairymon.." he stuttered, and Fairymon turned her head a fraction towards him.

"You okay, Agunimon?"

"Yeah. You didn't really need to do that though, I've got it."

She sniffed in annoyance. "You boys and your stupid prides, I could never understand." She turned her attention back to the enemy, eyes narrowing. "He's fast. We'd better not let our guard down."

Leomon charged again, and both of them steadied themselves to counter him, just as the enemy suddenly shot up, jumping so high towards where Lowemon was. Fairymon made a panicked noise, and Agunimon didn't wait to leap up himself, from rail to rail, trying to catch up with the enemy. But Leomon was ridiculously fast, and Agunimon could only watch as the enemy was before Lowemon in an instant, one arm raised to throw a punch.

But Lowemon's agility wasn't a joke. "Endlich Meteor!"

The ball of darkness blasted Leomon back a good ten metres, and Fairymon was already there, her foot catching Leomon's head and sending him crashing down to the ground. The asphalt cracked where Leomon landed, causing smoke and debris flying off everywhere. Not wanting to be outdone, Agunimon sped towards the enemy, intending to send his attack before Leomon regained his feet—

"Agunimon!" Fairymon shrieked, and Lowemon's voice followed. "Stop it!"

Because Leomon was much faster, and before Agunimon knew it, a fist connected to his face, sending him sprawling back. He hadn't even catch his breath when the next fist connected to his abdomen, and chest, knocking the air off his lungs. He could barely hear Takuya's worried warning echoing in his head, felt his arm rose to defend without him ordering it to, and knew it was Takuya moving his hand.

**_Stop it_**, he mentally screamed at Takuya. **_I'll do it—you told me you aren't going to take over!_**

'_I'm not! We're doing this together, Takuma-kun, you have to stop letting Agunimon fight by himself and lend us your power, too!' _[2]

_**I am fucking fighting!**_

'_That's an opening—kick him away, Takuma-kun!'_

And his foot did just that, almost involuntarily, kicking the enemy off him, even if the effort threw him flat on his back. He blinked, panted to catch his breath, and saw Lowemon knocked Leomon further away, towards Wolfmon—since when did he arrive?—who launched into his Licht Kuegel attack, drawing a painful shriek from the enemy as it crashed onto a tree. Both Blitzmon and Chakkmon sent out their own attacks, hitting Leomon straight before he could get back to his feet.

"Don't be careless, everyone, he's fast!" Lowemon's voice drifted over to him, and Agunimon hacked, shakily rising to his feet. Takuya was making encouraging noises at him, and Fairymon hovered above, looking down with half-concerned and half-annoyed eyes.

Damn it, he kept making a fool out of himself. He wouldn't be impressing Suzumi this way, he'd got to start leading!

"We need to keep attacking him and not giving him a chance!" He said out loud, gesturing towards where the enemy was trying to regain his stance back. "Let's restrain his movements—Chakkmon, we'll leave that to you—and we can just attack him endlessly—come on! Burning Salamander!"

It rather irritated him that the others didn't immediately moved on his cue—rather, it was because Lowemon followed with his Endlich Meteor that both Fairymon and Blitzmon launched into their respective attacks. Wolfmon charged the last, but Leomon had already regained back his stance, and they were instantly locked into a fast-paced, close combat.

"Pull away, Wolfmon!" Agunimon shouted, ready to aim his Fire Darts but unable to shoot because the two digimons were just too close. He could hit Wolfmon, and that would be a disaster. "Chakkmon, try restraining Leomon's moves!"

"I can't—I could hit Wolfmon!" Chakkmon's voice held a hint of frustration. Agunimon gritted his teeth—Wolfmon was obviously trying to pull away from his rapid close combat with Leomon, but the enemy wouldn't let him off. Leomon, Agunimon realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach, was using Wolfmon as a shield.

"Hold your attack, everyone!" that was Lowemon, obviously worried, and Agunimon could see why. One wrong move, Wolfmon could be hurt very badly, and him being one of the aces in the team, Kouichi wouldn't want that. But if Wolfmon couldn't pull off, then Leomon would just keep creating chaos, widening the battle area, and—

There was no time, the police would arrive real soon. If he was going to be a leader, then he might as well just decide for them now.

Moving slowly, Agunimon narrowed his eyes, eyes wild as they tried to spot Leomon's blind spot. He would just have to shoot at the right time—Fire Darts wasn't an attack that would hurt an enemy really badly, so even if Wolfmon were to be hit, he wouldn't be keeling over. But still, he had to be careful—one chance, one chance was what he needed, and even though Takuya was warning him about how reckless he was being—

_That's it_!

"Fire Darts!"

Four gasps came from different directions—Blitzmon, Chakkmon, Fairymon and Lowemon—and four different voices blended into one, shouted in different tones of anxiety, surprise and sheer anger as his attack spiraled towards the two digimon still locked tight in combat. "Agunimon!"

Wolfmon leapt up to avoid Agunimon's attack, but Leomon merely spun himself backwards, letting the attack whizzed past him, hitting one of the poles of the department store, before launching upwards and caught Wolfmon in mid-jump, locking him back into their previous rapid close combat. Agunimon growled, once again aiming to shoot, but Lowemon was already next to him, backing him up with his staff. Again.

"Stop. Being so reckless." The Warrior of Darknes growled low, golden eyes literally glowed in fury. "You're going to kill someone."

Agunimon pushed the staff back, angered. "I said I know what I'm doing! It should have hit, if Leomon wasn't so ridiculously fast!"

"Face it, he's that ridiculously fast!" the Warrior of Darkness didn't budge, and the staff was now right under Agunimon's chin. Feeling anger and embarrassment mingled inside his chest, Agunimon growled back, putting more force into pushing back and actually succeeded this time, making Lowemon nearly stumbled back.

"Well then stop ordering us around and start actually do something yourself!"

Lowemon went rigid. "I am not going to fight with you about this."

"What, you can't even deny? I'm pretty sure we could even do this without you being here!" Agunimon bit, pushing down Takuya's increasing warning. He was just so pissed off—Lowemon just had to embarrass him when Fairymon was just right above, watching! This had got to be in purpose, right? "If we don't do anything, that Leomon would just keep widening the battle area and you're the one who keep telling us not to do that!"

Lowemon shook his head, glancing back towards where Wolfmon was still in close combat with Leomon. "This is not the time or this," he murmured, visibly biting his lower lip as Chakkmon and Blitzmon rounded Leomon and Wolfmon in attempt to keep them in place.

Agunimon snorted. "I told you I have everything under control—"

"Oh, Agunimon, stop being so obnoxious!" from above, Fairymon shrilled, more than unpleased with his attitude. He started, looking up, and froze when the winged-Digimon fixed him a furious look he'd never seen before. Outraged was probably a more fitting word to describe it. "You've been doing everything wrong, and just—just stop doing what you can't do!"

The words chilled him completely, leaving him frozen even as Lowemon turned around and joined Chakkmon and Blitzmon, and Fairymon followed suit. He could only watch, as Blitzmon aimed his next attack towards a huge debris hanging from the fourth floor of the department store while the other three circled both Wolfmon and Leomon, trying to keep them in place. Blitzmon's next attack hit the debris square straight, and it fell down, right towards the combating two digimons, forcing them both to break off.

Fairymon sent a blast of wind to prevent Leomon launching himself back to catch Wolfmon, and Lowemon leapt forward to knock Leomon further as Wolfmon panted to catch his breath, and Chakkmon quickly pinned Leomon onto a wall by freezing the enemy's limbs. Blitzmon charged up his electricity, and brought his Thor Hammer swiftly down on the enemy.

Leomon's roar echoed in the sky, his data shimmering when it appeared, and it was Chakkmon who whipped out his Digivice and scanned it.

The youngest of them was still standing, almost in a daze, after Leomon's data was gone. It was Lowemon who approached him first, giving him a tensed smile—the adrenaline hadn't yet left their systems—as he clapped Chakkmon on the shoulder.

"See, you've got something you could do very well, Chakkmon."

And the Warrior of Ice grinned.

**-o0o-**

Kouichi looked up when his and Takuma's bedroom door opened, stiffening when his roommate stepped inside. By the look on Takuma's eyes—and what had happened in the battle with Leomon today—Kouichi knew the boy was more than pissed off.

"Takuma-kun." His own voice was tensed.

Takuma's eyes narrowed, a brewing storm literally coming alive in them.

"We need to talk, Kouichi."

**-o0oendofchapter6o0o-**

A/N: asdsajdhgsa I know I suck at those fighting scenes. My vocabularies are escaping me when I wrote that, and—well, I was rather distracted, too, but that's beside the point.

[1] Daikichi: If one takes an omikuji to see one's fortune, there are several kinds of blessings you could get, ranging from great blessing (Daikichi) to great curse (Dai-kyou). If you want to know more, Wikipedia still rocks.

[2] If you're confused about Takuya's words, I suggest you rewatch the last episode of Digimon Frontier. Basically before the kids' last evolution into Susanoomon (in which the five of them are joined together), Takuya said something about so far, the only ones fighting are Agunimon and the others. I kinda caught it like, before that last evolution, the kids weren't able to use their own powers and kept using the Spirits', but in the last battle, they realized that and finally joined their powers together with the warriors. Thus, the defeat of Lucemon. I could be wrong, so if you want to correct me, feel free to do so. :D

Next chapter should be.. a bit more engaging, since we'd be able to put an end to Takuma's obnoxiousness. Stay tune till there, folks! :'D


	8. Then They Slowly

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. Hints of one-sided OC-Kouichi and OC/OC because it's necessary for the plot.

Rating: Gen, I swear I'm keeping it gen. –forces down the KouKou fangirl inside-

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

Warnings: Possible OOC-ness, grammar errors, and for this chapter: insane length, half of it is dealing with Takuma, which is an OC, and I'm so sorry.

A/N: Oh my God I feel so horrible. This chapter seriously killed me. Back in April and May this chapter underwent a hundred times scraping-and-starting-over, and by June I started my two-month internship and I just couldn't deal with it. I actually got scared of it, which was why I didn't touch it for months, but at last here it is! 12 thousand something words worth of chapter, and I hope it's enough compensation even though half of it doesn't even deal with the canon characters. ;A; I'm really, really sorry, I don't know if anyone's still reading this, but if you are, thank you so much for bearing with me ;A;

Please enjoy, and reviews are appreciated. :D

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**Chapter Two: Then They Slowly**

If Wolfmon were here now, he could probably cut the tension with his swords, thick as it was.

Kouichi opted to stare straight into Takuma's eyes—they literally blazed with anger, and all Kouichi could think was how much alike the boy was to Takuya when he was furious. Absently he wondered if it was something that every wielder of Spirit of Fire had, but then dismissed the thought. Takuma was just at that age, when anger seemed to be the best option to make your deepest emotions known. After all, even Kouichi went through that stage, what with the whole Duskmon thing.

Even so, the anger was real. Just as real as his anger was the first time he came to the Digital World. Cherubimon might have controlled it, but his anger towards his Kouji back then—the bitterness of being left behind, of why Kouji seemed to be okay with his new family when his mother was suffering, the fury of not being acknowledged and the overall feeling of being left—his anger was real. Cherubimon only emphasized it. That was why Kouichi knew right now, Takuma's anger was real, and Kouichi wasn't going to look down on the boy just because he was getting angry over petty things.

"Could you stop doing that?" Takuma's tone was harsh. Kouichi knew exactly what he meant. Takuma was not someone meant to be led, but until he could really lead, Kouichi would have to take over the place. He knew this day would come; a time when Takuma was practically fed up at being told what to do. It didn't make it any easier, though.

"Do what?" To be fair, he was provoking Takuma himself. It would be a lie if he were to say he wasn't angry at the way Takuma had been acting these past few weeks. "Stopping you from killing yourself or anyone else?"

"I told you I knew what I was doing!" Takuma growled, his presence literally exuding fury, and Kouichi had to take a step back in precaution. "On the other hand, you're just—you're just spitting out orders! You can't expect us to obey whatever it is you say, Kouichi. You can't expect me to do what you want, not when I know what needs to be done! Weren't you the one who said our goal is to wipe off all the digimon that strayed into this world?!"

"I don't expect you to obey everything I say, Takuma-kun. I only expect you to be more careful."

"Hah! So did it get you anywhere? Nowhere!" Takuma bit out vehemently, his voice rising in both in pitch and volume. "Admit it, you just want to dominate us, and take all the good things for yourself, don't you?"

Kouichi's eyes widened. The words stung worse than he'd expected—obviously Takuma was even more capable in using hurting words than Takuya was. Takuya was terrifying when he was livid, but he'd never ever spout off hurtful accusations. But again, Takuma wasn't at all like Takuya—he just happened to look a bit like his old friend—and comparing him to the deceased wielder of Spirit of Fire wouldn't help in any way.

Kouichi took a deep breath, mentally counting to ten. He'd thought Takuma misunderstood his actions, this whole time, but to actually accuse him of trying to steal the spotlight originally wasn't meant to be his—Kouichi had never even thought about it. And perhaps, perhaps after all this time, Kouichi too was still just a kid deep inside, because the next thing that came out of his mouth was "Don't blame people for things you can't do or get yourself, Takuma-kun."

Takuma's mouth hung open, and Kouichi knew his words had hurt. He shouldn't have said that, really; he was just adding fuel to fire, and that wouldn't be good. Not ever. Takuma's face took an interesting shade of red—anger, Kouichi recognized—and he was about to open his mouth and apologize, because even though he'd meant it, he shouldn't have used such direct words.

But Takuma's fist was faster.

Kouichi recoiled, self-defense flaring, but he'd never been very good in things that needed physical agility, no matter how many times Kouji and Takuya used to teach him some fancy moves for self-defense. Not when he wasn't being Lowemon, at least. He raised his hands before his face in last attempt to block the punch, knowing it was too late but did it anyway, eyes snapping shut, and—

The fist stopped, mere millimeters from his face.

His breath caught in his throat, waiting for the pain that never came. He blinked, swallowing back the surprise and fear slowly crawling up his chest—Takuma hadn't hit him. The other boy's fist was still hanging before his face; Kouichi noticed the fist was shaking when he brought his hands back down hesitantly.

He couldn't see Takuma's face, from this angle. The fist was too close to his face—Takuma still hadn't retracted his fist, his head bowed down, looking at the floor. Kouichi took a sharp breath, then released it slowly, trying to calm his thudding heart.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to handle Takuma calmly, not provoking him.

"Could've gone better than that, buddy." The voice was familiar, but at the same time unfamiliar because, gods, it must have been centuries since he last heard that voice. Kouichi's head snapped up, eyes widening in disbelief, as Takuma's fist was finally brought down, and the other boy was slowly looking up—an easy grin etched on his face.

Kouichi was looking at Takuya.

It was Takuya, standing before him, grinning like he hadn't just been gone from Kouichi's life for a freaking century in which Kouichi was almost completely alone. It was Takuya—not Takuma—because even though it was still Takuma's face grinning at Kouichi, the dark-haired boy could see the silhouette of his old friend behind Takuma.

It was Takuya. The one looking at him half in amusement and half in sadness, with a familiar grin that Kouichi had missed so, so much—it was Takuya. Only Takuya had a grin like that.

"Don't pass out, buddy." The grin turned into a concerned half-smile. "This wasn't the first time you saw me, right? I thought you've seen me, and everyone else, too—you recognized Izumi when she called you back in that battle. Don't tell me you forgot about me."

Kouichi stared at the other boy blankly.

"Sorry to surprise you, there. I'm… really not supposed to do this, you know—taking over Takuma-kun's body without his consent. But he was going to hit you, and if I hadn't step up and take over, you'd have end up with this huge purple bruise, and Kouji would kill me if I ever met him again for that." Takuya paused in his ramblings, looking up only to see Kouichi still staring at him like he couldn't understand what Takuya was saying, and okay, maybe Takuya did speak too fast. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then peered up and tried to catch Kouichi's eyes. "Uhh, Kouichi, buddy—you with me?"

Kouichi blinked.

Then laughter was bubbling up his throat, shaky and loud, and he laughed out, hard. The hysterical kind of laugh; he barely noticed tears springing to his eyes, hot and salty as they rolled down his cheeks and ended up on the corner of his mouth. Takuya was taken aback for a second, but there was understanding in his eyes when Kouichi finally locked gaze with him. The other boy's eyes were sad; it made Kouichi want to laugh even harder because, _gods_, he looked so pathetic in front of Takuya now.

And he'd tried so hard, too. Deluding himself, thinking it was all his imagination whenever he caught flashes of his old friends when they were fighting, that Takuma and the others were lying about the presences of the previous wielders.

By the time his laughter died down, leaving small sobs wrecking his figure, he noticed that he was sitting on the bed. Takuya was sitting by his side, wringing his hands like he didn't know what to do. Then Kouichi realized with a pang in his chest: this was Takuya, but not whole.

Takuya hated the gesture of wringing hands when he grew up into an adult. He said it made him look absolutely nervous, and he stopped doing it altogether. Which meant, if this Takuya was wringing his hands—

"Who are you?" Kouichi asked, voice strained with effort to arrange himself into some semblance of calm. Takuya tilted his head, peering sideways towards him, and grinned with a hint of tease that made Kouichi want to laugh earnestly. He corrected then, "I mean, I don't forget you, Takuya. Never. But you're—"

"Not quite Takuya either?" Takuya interrupted, smiling. "Yeah, true enough. I'm just a fragment of his soul residing in the spirit. A part of his power the Spirit kept. But in a way, I am Takuya. Your friend."

"My friend," Kouichi repeated, breath rushed in a wave of nostalgia. This was Takuya, even if it wasn't Takuya's whole soul being by his side. Takuya gave a hearty grin, and Kouichi couldn't not smile back. How long had it been since he sat side by side with Takuya, like this, talking about Kouji and the others and the weather and everything and basically nothing at all?

Then the grin disappeared, though not the smile, but Takuya's face turned serious. "I don't have much time. Takuma-kun isn't working with me in doing this; it exhausts both of us if I come out too long without him being cooperative."

"No," Kouichi began, a tone of desperation coloring his voice—_no, don't go yet, stay please, tell me that I'm not standing alone and that you guys are still here, with me_—but Takuya shook his head, and he wasn't smiling anymore. There was seriousness in his eyes that reminded Kouichi of the time when they faced the Royal Knights for the last time, and it was enough to shut him up.

"This isn't my body; it's not going to be good for Takuma if I keep coming out. So you need to calm down and listen, okay?"

Kouichi nodded, feeling numb.

"You've been doing well, leading the kids by yourself like that. We knew you could do it." A hint of pride sneaked into Takuya's voice. "Takuma's just—he was a lot like me back then, before I met you. Reckless and selfish, not knowing what it meant to actually lead people. It took some time before I realized that I wasn't doing anyone good—Kouji told me how, Izumi told me how, hell, even Junpei and Tomoki. But you see, Kouichi, Takuma needs to get it on his own. And he will, really. You've got to believe in him."

"I do." Kouichi's voice was small, and he sounded lost. "I do, but he keeps throwing himself into trouble, endangering the others, and he's always so angry at me and I can't—"

"He's been a pain in the ass hasn't he?" Takuya laughed, obvious mirth ringing in Kouichi's ears. "But trust me on this, buddy, he'll get round to it. He needs people to guide him, though, like I needed everybody else, but he'll learn what it means to be a leader. Until then, you've got to keep the team together."

The silence that fell after those words were deafening, and Kouichi's mind was whirling a mile a minute. He needed to answer, didn't he, what did Takuya expect to hear from him, did he want Kouichi to promise to guide Takuma or—

Then the other boy's body was falling forward, and Kouichi yelped as Takuma's figure slumped onto him, deadweight. It took him five seconds to realize that the younger boy had passed out—right, exhaustion, Takuya said. He wasn't kidding when he said his time was limited.

Kouichi took a deep breath, feeling his brain slowly came to a halt. He needed to think about what was in front of him to clear his head, and right now he had to put Takuma down. With a groan, Kouichi twisted his body so Takuma body rolled onto the bed, boneless on his back. The younger boy made a noise that suspiciously sounded like a tired snore.

Kouichi sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and scrubbed his still wet eyes with the back of his hand.

He wondered if Kazuma would let him buy some sake for tonight. He needed the drink he hadn't had for a century.

-o0o-

For two days, the two of them ignored each other. Suzumi gave him exasperated, but fond looks, Kanpei rose an eyebrow, and Tokiya looked anxious. Kouji was still avoiding him, but Kouichi wondered if the younger boy noticed—he saw Kouji scrutinizing Takuma from a safe distance with a scowl once. He didn't comment on it, though. He still didn't want to think too much about Minashiro Kouji, or about their whole complicated situation, or how much alike he was with his Kouji because it made his chest tightened like nothing else could. He couldn't let it get to him—there were just so many things needed to be done, things to be thought, to figure out.

He didn't have time to stop just to entertain stupid thoughts that maybe, just maybe, Minashiro Kouji and his Kouji were—no, that was simply ridiculous. It was crazy, and Kouichi was supposed to be an adult, mature enough not to think stupid thoughts anymore.

Takuma liked to pretend he didn't exist when Kouichi was in their room, and Kouichi was seriously considering to ask Kazuma if he could move out of their apartment. Or at least crash in Kazuma's room, until Takuma'd blown off all his steam.

Fortunately, he didn't have to do that. By the end of the second day, Ophanimon was contacting him, and he strode into Takuma's room purposefully, put a hand on Takuma's shoulder and forcefully turned him when Takuma didn't respond.

"What." Takuma's eyes narrowed. Kouichi took a breath, and reminded himself to not say anything stupid.

"I need to leave." Kouichi said, deciding that there was no need for dilly-dallying. "It'd take some time, because the link between the Digital World and the real world is very unstable right now, and I'm not sure about the time difference when it's like this. But I have to see the Three Angels and give them the data and information we've collected so far, and I'm going to leave you in charge of the team."

Takuma rolled his eyes, but his voice was tight. "Nothing's different then."

"Takuma-kun," Kouichi said, and there was a note of concern sneaking into his voice. "Please take care of the others. Don't act too recklessly."

Takuma shrugged him off, and turned his back to him. Kouichi stared, half in disappointment and half in worry, but he didn't have much time. So he took his backpack and hat, and left.

-o0o-

"You're going now?" Kazuma spoke up from where he lounged on the couch in the living room, and Kouichi paused on his way out. He peered towards the mop of brown hair peeking out from the couch arm—the only part of Kazuma he could see from where he stood. The television set was on, though it was muted, so Kazuma must be working on something. "Come over here for a second, Kouichi. I just found something interesting."

Eyebrows raising, Kouichi turned and entered the living room instead of continuing towards the front door. "What is it?" he asked, stopping right next to the couch and bending down a little to see Kazuma working with his tablet. It still took Kouichi aback to see that a tablet could project holographs of its screen—Kazuma was pulling it out for him to see clearly.

"You said the creation of Digital World has something to do with our cyber world, right? The fact that they're data and all." Kazuma didn't even divert his attention from what he was doing. "If something was wrong in our cyber connection, would that affect the Digital World, too?"

Kouichi considered this, tentatively reached out to touch the holograph. His fingers went through it, so he retracted them back and answered hesitantly, "I… suppose, yeah. To some extent." The Digital World had its own system and operations, and he had never quite understood how it worked or how it linked to the humans' cyber world. "It's not—the two worlds are separated, though. Unless there's something wrong with the barrier like it is right now, I don't think what's happening in the Digital World should affect something in the real world or vice-versa."

Kazuma made a thoughtful noise. "It's messed up right now, though, right? The barrier?"

"Yes. Normal digimon shouldn't have enough power to make a portal breaking through the barrier, so there's definitely something wrong."

"I had a stupid theory last night about the whole cyber connections…" Kazuma said absently, clicking on a folder. "So I tried researching it this morning, and I find out that… you know, every single place where a Digimon suddenly popped out and you guys went to fight it? There's always some…. oddities, in the place's network."

Kouichi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know how, nowadays, almost everything is run by computers, right?" Kazuma watched Kouichi nodded slowly. "We have a huge network, and every single time a Digimon broke through, the place where it appeared experienced odd errors in electronical devices. Especially devices that were hooked up to the internet, or using satellite signals, or—well, basically electronics. It's like glitches, but with no reason."

"I see…" Kouichi stared at the matrix Kazuma had pulled up onto the holographic sreen: a list of place and pointers of what was happening before a digimon appeared. There were several pictures, too, and some links to websites that probably gave Kazuma information. His eyes followed the words: Ura-Harajuku, five minutes before Leomon appeared, there was a blackout on the fourth to seventh floor of the department store, for unknown reasons. South Tokyo experienced an odd mixed cell phone signals that disabled people to contact anyone through phones mere minutes before Greymon appeared. A branch factory of a well-known brand just outside Tokyo lost control over its network, causing malfunctions to their machines and consequently a halt on their production, an estimated ten minutes before the appearance of a Floramon—that was weeks and weeks ago.

His thought was flung back then, months before, when he first met Takuma and the others. They were on the sky monorail—he remembered Birdramon, yes. Just seconds before it appeared, the monorail had halted suddenly, and the lights inside had totally been killed. He'd always assumed Birdramon had appeared by that time, thinking it was probably caused by a collision with the digimon that halted the monorail. But this—this new information Kazuma gave him….

"Kazuma-kun, could you research this further and give me some kind of, I don't know, timeline? Of the Digimon appearances, I mean. And the oddities in the network you mentioned before. See if you could find a pattern?"

"Absolutely," Kazuma said, and then finally glanced up from his tablet for the first time since he called Kouichi in, taking in the sight of Kouichi and his backpack. "Uh. So how long are you going to be gone?"

"Just.. a while." Kouichi smiled. "I'm not sure about the time difference now that the barrier's probably a mess, so I can't tell you when exactly I'll be back. The team would be okay; hopefully nothing too dangerous would be happening."

Kazuma nodded, giving Kouichi a smile of his own. "Sorry my brother's such a pain sometimes."

"He's growing, though." Kouichi said, amused. Kazuma shrugged in a come-on-you-don't-need-to-put-up-that-much-with-him gesture, and he chuckled.

"Take care then, Kazuma-kun."

"Yeah, you too."

-o0o-

"My God," Blitzmon said, half in awe and half in disbelief. "The digimon appeared in _fucking_ NHK."

"Language, Kanpei-kun." Fairymon frowned, wings fluttering as she hovered closer toward the window, and Tokiya's small form tensed up in her arms whenever she moved. The little guy was probably scared being lifted so high in the air when he wasn't being Chakkmon, Blitzmon figured, and listened to Junpei's chuckle in his head. He shrugged Fairymon's admonition off, nearly forgetting that he was carrying both Takuma and Kouji on his shoulders until his two friends yelped.

"_Goddammit_, Mashiba!" Kouji growled, clinging to Blitzmon's armor, while Takuma shrieked like a baby (okay, maybe he didn't but he was being so annoying lately whenever they went out to fight, and Blitzmon thought as a teammate he totally had the right to call Takuma a baby) and hollered a "You drop us and I'm going to kill you thrice, Kanpei!"

Inside his head, Junpei's chuckle turned into a full-blown laughter.

"I said language, Kouji-kun!" Fairymon turned her frown again towards them. "And why can't we enter the building normally, like, through the doors?"

"Because they have automatic doors, and the whole computer system in the building's currently down. That's why they haven't called in for help yet, and that's why we're here earlier than the police, because our digivice is magnificent like that." Takuma sounded like he was reading off a bad script he'd memorized—and he probably did have it memorized, considering Kazuma-san was the one explaining the situation to him before the five of them met up. "So the only way we could get in is to bust through the windows."

"Well, then. Hang on tight, Tokiya-kun." Fairymon shifted Tokiya into one arm, the youngest of them having grabbed on her shoulder tight, and launched a small ball of air onto the window. It hit with a resounding crack, and the glass shattered—if 'elegantly' could be used to describe the windows breaking, Blitzmon was sure this would be called so. Everything, absolutely _everything_ that Fairymon ever did always had this elegance in them.

'_My God, you are so far gone, Kanpei-kun,'_ was Junpei's comment, and Blitzmon didn't even care.

They landed in a grand hallway—huge enough for even Fairymon to stand without bending her body. Blitzmon stepped back once Kouji and Takuma hopped off his arms, and watched them and Tokiya evolved into Agunimon, Wolfmon and Chakkmon, feeling the usual wave of fascination washed over his being. It never failed to mesmerize him; watching the others evolve, that was, for some reason he didn't understand himself. Of course, Suzumi's evolving into Fairymon was the most dazzling, if he had to compare them all.

"We need to find other people first, and get them to a safe room. It's better if they stay in one place while we fight the digimon." Agunimon said thoughtfully. "Does anybody know which studio is the biggest? We could put them there."

"Yeah, because we wander into NHK every day." Blitzmon said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I've never even set foot here, Takuma, how should I know which is the biggest?"

"We don't have to keep them in the building. It'd be better if we can get them out of here as soon as possible." Wolfmon commented, and Chakkmon chimed up, agreeing. "I can make an ice path out of this window down to the road. They could just, uhh, slide down on it."

"That's a good idea, but we're going to have to leave someone to watch over the path and make sure the fight doesn't reach here." Agunimon frowned. "I'm not sure pulling one of us out is a good idea—"

"We have two enemies, according to the digivice," Fairymon said. She was holding her digivice as she spoke; it made a small beeping noise that sounded like danger in Blitzmon's ears. "That's… unusual. We've never had to face two digimon in one encounter."

"It's still going to be two versus five, we can handle this," Agunimon said, sounding less confident than his words actually were. "First, we've got to set a parameter, right? We'll split up and lure those Digimon into one place. I'm thinking the central lobby should be big enough—we're going to trash this place, it's inevitable anyway."

"I don't know, Agunimon," Fairymon murmured warily, her gestures screaming uncertainty to all eyes in their little circle. "I'm not sure if splitting up is a good idea. Remember what Kouichi-kun said? We work best when we work together."

Agunimon crossed his arms, directing an annoyed look at her. "He isn't here. And this is called a strategy, Fairymon."

'_Here we go again,'_ Blitzmon heard Junpei groan, and glanced sideways at the way Fairymon's lips slowly twisted in distaste. Their team dynamic had been exceptionally awful lately. It seemed like Tokiya was the only one everyone could actually get along with.

He took a look at the digivice, noting the two blinking dots. One was in the west wing of the building, another down in the central lobby. They didn't seem to be moving. Looking back up, he spoke out, "They don't seem to be moving at all, so we have the element of surprise at our advantage. We should use that. If we take them down one by one—"

"It'll take too long." The look Agunimon gave him was best described as _back off, man_, and that made Blitzmon's eyes narrow. One of the worst thing that happened if Agunimon was in full obnoxious mode was his inability to take any suggestion or advice. If they weren't about to engage the enemy, Blitzmon would have given him one for it. "Wolfmon, go with Chakkmon and cover the east wing. The rest, come with me to the west wing."

Blitzmon thought he should be rewarded a medal for not yelling at his friend. "You know, the element of surprise worked best if coupled with team wo—"

"We'll meet up in the central lobby." Agunimon cut him dismissively, voice taking an ordering tone. For a moment, hesitance hung in the air, but nobody spoke up, until Wolfmon made an exasperated noise, turned around and stalked off. Chakkmon scrambled to follow him, leaving the three of them behind.

The tension was thick—Fairymon was glaring at Agunimon not-so-discreetly, and Blitzmon couldn't say that he wasn't doing the same. Despite that, the Fire Warrior turned and motioned them to follow him down the other hall.

'_We'll give him this. We can always hit him in the face when he screw up,'_ he heard Junpei piped up, and almost smiled at the exasperated tone underlining his words.

-o0o-

Okay, so the five of them would be engaging two enemies. Not a good situation, but not unmanageable either. It wasn't like the five of them are good with plans anyway—so far, most of the plans in battle were done with Kouichi supervising and throwing in his two cents, which probably what kept them alive in battles.

'_Hah, so you do think he's doing a good job leading you all._' Takuya's voice sounded smug. Agunimon frowned to himself at that. Alright, so maybe he actually thought Kouichi did a good job in leading them, but he can do a much better job, surely. "Shut up, Takuya."

"Did Kouichi-kun say how long he's going to be gone?"

His frown deepened. Seriously, Fairymon had been with him from the very start of this mission, and she couldn't ever shut up about Kouichi. Agunimon loved hearing her talk, but if it was only going to be about Kouichi, he'd preferred not to hear a word. "He didn't."

Takuya made a quiet snicker that echoed inside his head, but remained silent otherwise.

"Are you sure? Kouichi-kun worries about us, it's weird that he didn't say anything before he left."

"Well, obviously he's not too worried anymore, since he didn't tell me anything else I haven't told you guys." Okay, that was a lie. He didn't tell them about Kouichi's last warning for him not to be reckless. Come on, he knew his limit. Besides, he had Takuya. Takuya would tell him if he was crossing a line.

'_Damn right I will. No one's going to die just because you made a mistake.'_

"No, Takuya, seriously, shut it." He mumbled, and got an exasperated sigh from the previous wielder's spirit, but at least Takuya wasn't saying anything anymore.

There was a blessed silence for a grand total of three seconds, then Fairymon said again, "Don't you guys think Kouichi-kun had been acting a bit strange lately?"

Agunimon fought the urge to roll his eyes, because no, Kouichi had been his usual mother hen. Nothing was weird with that. "You mean he actually acts like we're five-year-olds going into the battlefield with nothing but toy knives?"

Fairymon gave him a sharp look, but Blitzmon helpfully contributed; "He probably had a fight with Kouji. They've been avoiding each other lately."

Fairymon regarded the Warrior of Thunder with interested look. "You think so? I've just been thinking the two of them have been kind of off. They don't work as well as they usually do, and Kouichi-kun often spaced out when he sees Kouji-kun—"

"He's just fine." He didn't mean to snap, really, so he was honestly rather surprised when his voice came out in a harsh snap. Fairymon stopped dead on her speech, and Blitzmon was glaring at him, and he could even physically felt Takuya frowning, and a part of him reflexively wanted to apologize, but he swallowed it and continued in a grumble. "He's been just fine at home, has been hogging all Kazu-nii's attention, and does the grocery shopping like he usually does. Nothing different. No need to worry about him."

One, two, three, four seconds—"He does grocery shopping for your family?" line was apparently the only thing Fairymon caught from Agunimon's annoyed grumble previously. Agunimon sighed, exasperated, and turned around to look at the butterfly-like Digimon hovering two inches from the ground. Honestly, must this beauty before him talk about Kouichi all the time? Couldn't she just look right at him instead?

'_Jealousy is also blind, Takuma-kun.'_

_Shut up_, he thought as loud as he could, but managed to respond to Fairymon's inquiry. "Yeah. He lives with us, he helps with things around."

"That sounds like him, to help around. Nice to know some boys know how to help with house chores and actually willing to do it," she sounded so awed at such notion. Agunimon couldn't really blame how Blitzmon piped in with a small voice: "I wash the dishes at home after dinner."

"He just helps with the groceries. Guy still doesn't know how to operate most of the machines and gadgets at home." He continued his steps, keeping his gaze on his digivice this time. They should be close to their target now.

"Isn't it good, that he helps with whatever he can? It's how he is." The flutter of Fairymon's wings sounded closer—she was trying to keep up with his pace. Sure enough, when he glanced to his left, Fairymon was looking at him intently, like she could extract every single information he had about Kouichi just by staring at him.

He clicked his tongue, irritated at both the jealousy welling up in his chest and the way Fairymon just seemed not to notice how irritating everything was right now. "Why are you so all over him, anyway?"

The butterfly-like Digimon literally backpedaled. "I—! I—don't—I mean, no, I'm just—" her face flushed bright red as she stuttered. Agunimon's lips thinned; fine, maybe she was adorable when she blushes like that, but if the blush happened over talks of Kouichi, he didn't like it one bit.

"Kouichi's not at all that fascinating, you know." He halted on his step when they reached the end of the hallway, considering turning left before dismissing the idea and turned right instead, eyes still fixed on the digivice. The digimon was close.

"Oi, Agunimon." Blitzmon spoke up. "If we turn left here, we can get to the digimon from behind."

Agunimon made a face. "What, you're scared?" Seriously, attacking from behind was not cool. Not at all. Even if their enemy was a Digimon gone berserk.

There was literally a spark of electricity above Blitzmon's head as the Thunder Warrior bristled. "Scared? It's strategy, Agunimon, I told you about the element of surprise, right? God, you're being seriously insufferable."

"If you're scared, you can just admit it." Agunimon snickered, watched the sparks of electricity above Blitzmon grew more vibrant, and was about to take a step back when suddenly the lights flickered.

Fairymon looked up. "What—"

A deafening growl echoed off from the corridor before them, and as the three of them tensed, the whole building shook. Agunimon fell into a fighting stance seamlessly, feeling rather than seeing his two companions doing the same. Another snarl echoed, this time sounding closer as a dark shadow moved from the corner of the corridor—

Agunimon's lips twitch, feeling Takuya's presence stirring and getting stronger like it always did when they were about to go into battle. "Huh. Seems like it found us first."

'_Yeah, couldn't be helped, then.'_

The outline of the Digimon was rather familiar—a humanoid Digimon the height of Agunimon's hip, easiest described as a mini-golem. They had fought Gotsumon before; the Digimon was kind of a power-hitter, but its small size shouldn't make for big trouble. This shouldn't be too bad.

Blitzmon was scowling at him, though. "Told you we should've taken left."

"It's just Gotsumon." Agunimon couldn't help but grin, the familiar rush of battle-adrenaline already racing through his veins. His fingers closed to a fist, and his stance got firmer. "Just stay back and watch, even I can take care of this alone."

Fairymon started visibly at his exclamation, but before anyone could say anything, Agunimon charged forward.

"Fire Darts!"

Gotsumon's reaction was immediate—pulling up a wall of rocks to counter Agunimon's attack, but Agunimon was expecting that. He slid down a bit to the side and leapt past the defense of rocks, landing a well-aimed kick right on Gotsumon's torso. A furious growl emanated from the enemy, and Agunimon only had time to fall back into a defense stance before a huge boulder was thrown straight towards him. He managed to dodge it by sliding downside, letting the boulder flew past him, through the window and down to the street. He heard Fairymon scramble to chase the boulder, making sure it wouldn't injure anyone happened to be loitering outside the building. Gotsumon was already back on his feet, and this time, when he leapt into attack, Agunimon met him halfway.

'_Don't look down on him!'_ was the only warning he heard from Takuya before his fist connected to Gotsumon's face.

Punches and kicks were exchanged; there was a fleeting panicked moment when a thought flitted through Agunimon's mind: he didn't remember Gotsumon packed such a mean swing, and was the Digimon even this fast when they fought another Gotsumon back then? A punch straight to his gut staggered him, and he shook his head for a second before retaliating with a kick well-aimed at Gotsumon's head.

'_Shoot him, Takuma-kun!'_

"Burning Salamander!"

The Digimon flew off and into a studio through a broken wall before crashing on a stage and some prop with a loud bang. Agunimon caught his breath, and had a moment to smirk in satisfaction, just as he heard Blitzmon shrieked, "What the hell is that?!"

His head snapped sideways, towards where Blitzmon was staring, and for the first time after all the battles they went through, Agunimon witnessed how a portal was opened.

It was like a pond of electricity, he would later remember; almost like a hole, one or two meters in diameter, crackling with electrical currents. Then out of nowhere, blocks of data was building fast—too fast—in the midst of it, shaping a vague figure that turned solid in a matter of seconds. Blitzmon gave a shout, blasting more electrical current into the portal, but it was too late.

Agunimon blinked to another Gotsumon.

Who promptly digivolve into Insekimon.

'_Oh shit,'_ was Takuya's immediate reaction in his head, and Agunimon couldn't help but agree. Blitzmon and Fairymon both sent out their attacks, electricity and mighty gust of wind blasting on the newest enemy's face. Agunimon straightened up, firing off his Fire Darts around Insekimon, and had to leap back when Gotsumon launched another attack of hugs boulders toward him.

Blitzmon grunted as he blew off another boulder thrown his way, turning it into exploding little stones. "I told you we could have had that surprise attack advantage!"

"Yeah, well!" Agunimon shouted back, darting down to avoid more boulders and retaliating with fire. "Like we could have known there's another portal opening up!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Fairymon's voice was close to a shriek, not that Agunimon could blame her. This situation was kind of dire, though he was pretty sure they could still handle it. He leapt up, aiming a powerful kick at Gotsumon and watched in satisfaction as it was thrown back a good feet. A blast of wind knocked it further back—Fairymon was backing him, that was good. He grinned, feeling his confidence grew. See, they didn't really need Kouichi to—

'_Takuma-kun, behind you!'_

He grinned, turning around swiftly to face another boulder. He leapt back, and swung his leg to change the trajectory of the boulder by hitting it on the side.

He honestly didn't see Blitzmon on the other side. He didn't even notice—only Fairymon's surprised shout and Blitzmon's painful scream that later froze him in place.

'_Takuma-kun!'_ Takuya's voice was harsh in his head, and he winced. The boulder had hit Blitzmon dead, and he was turning into swirls of data, revealing Kanpei's prone figure sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain. Fairymon was by his side in a matter of seconds, using her small tornadoes to ward off both Gotsumon and Insekimon.

His eyes couldn't leave his friend's body, though. For the first time since he became a Digimon, Kawabara Takuma felt inexplicable fear and rage coursing through his very being.

"Agunimon!" Fairymon was really shrieking now—obviously panicking. They'd been hurt through the battles before, but none of them had been hurt that bad to turn back into their human forms in the middle of the battle. Agunimon flinched visibly, arms shaking. "Don't just stand there—come on!"

'_Tell her to take him away, Takuma-kun!'_ Takuya snapped at him. _'The most important thing right now is to get Kanpei-kun to safety. Just retreat for now!'_

Apparently Fairymon didn't have to be told—she swiftly seized Kanpei's groaning figure and blasted off a window before flying out. Agunimon swallowed, and followed suit, jumping off the window and using the handrail there to swing down into the window a floor under them. The shattering glass scratched him, but the pain was simply overthrown by the panic and worry overwhelming his whole existence. He rolled back onto his feet just in time to see Fairymon flew back inside.

"Is he—" Agunimon began, eyes fixed on Kanpei's unmoving figure inside Fairymon's hold, but the butterfly-like Digimon snapped, "Where to?"

"Whe—"

"We need to get him to safety!"

That was right. He had to calm down now, had to take care of his friends first, had to find Kouji and Tokiya and changed their plans. He licked his lips, feeling hyper aware of how dry they were, and when he looked down, his hands were shaking as they hovered over Kanpei's form, unsure to touch his friend for fear of injuring him further, but needing the reassurance that Kanpei was alright and alive.

The boulder had hit Kanpei dead on because he hadn't seen where he deflected it.

He should have known where his teammates were standing. That was one of the things Kouichi ceaselessly reminded all of them: _make sure you know where everyone is standing_. He'd been too playful, too reckless in attacking and deflecting, and he didn't mean to hit Kanpei with the boulder, of course, but it didn't change the fact that it was his fault. Kanpei was injured because he messed around too much. If he had taken that Gotsumon down before the portal opened, it would have been easy to gang up on Insekimon. If he had considered Kanpei's surprise attack idea, this might not even happen. But no, he'd gotten cocky and so full of himself, and what did it get him, now?

_So much for a leader_, a voice inside his head mocked, and it wasn't Takuya's voice. _It's your fault, you're really one hell of a leader, what a failure, you should've just quit, you're just pretending that you know what you're doing, you're no leader, you don't deserve these friends._

He could have killed Kanpei. He injured Kanpei, now, and if he kept doing this, would he end up killing the others? Takuya said he would intervene when it came to that, but what if there was no time, like earlier? The boulder had hit Kanpei, and all he could do was hopelessly watch Blitzmon evolving back into Kanpei and Fairymon's tensed posture trying to defend Kanpei from the Gotsumon. He hadn't even moved.

If Fairymon hadn't made in in time, if he'd deflected the boulder harder than it was necessary—would Kanpei be—?

"Agunimon!"

"We'll—I'll—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the two windows down the hall shattered with a loud noise, and two Insekimon swung inside, landing not-quite-gracefully. Fairymon let out a strangled noise. "The other one evolved?!"

'_This is bad,'_ was Takuya's warning in his head, and Agunimon felt his head swam. Their enemies was slowly moving, shaking themselves from shards of glass that did nothing to scratch their hard-rock body. Did another portal open? No, he needed to get Kanpei to safety, he needed to find Kouji and Tokiya and make better plans, and his whole body was trembling.

"Agunimon—" Fairymon's voice held a note of warning, snapping him back to attention. His mind raced; plowing through the best possibilities, the best way to both find their other two friends and escape, before it hit him. They had a designated meeting point. He'd told them they'd meet up on the Central Lobby. Kouji was smart enough, if there was something wrong he would back off and wait around the Central Lobby for Takuma and the others to come.

_Unlike you, who never knew when to stop_, the voice in his head taunted.

"Central Lobby," he breathed, and motioned for Fairymon to move. "We promised to meet the others in Central Lobby." He stepped up, focusing his attention back on the two enemies. "Go ahead, I'll do something to slow them down."

Fairymon hesitated. "But Agunimon—"

"I'll be right behind you, promise."

Fairymon's wings fluttered, sending a small breeze around, a sign that she already started moving. Agunimon looked up at the ceiling—a well-placed attack should be able to bring the ceiling down and hinder the enemies. He needed to focus and stop screwing up this time.

'_You'll do fine,' _it was Takuya this time, and it calmed him a little. He wasn't alone. _'Everything will be fine.'_

"Burning Salamander!"

As the ceiling broke down with a heavy groan, Agunimon leapt back and dashed away after Fairymon's trail.

-o0o-

The Central Lobby was already thrashed, but Kouji and Tokiya found them before they reached the lobby, waving them over to a smaller hall. Both of them had already de-evolved back into their human forms and were hiding behind large stage props. Fairymon shuffled carefully, laying Kanpei down like he was made of glass, before turning back to her human form. She turned to see Agunimon did the same. For a while, the five of them shifted around, trying to make sure that they were hidden from view before settling down back to look over Kanpei.

"Ow-ow-ow—" Kanpei whimpered, eyes wet with painful tears, obviously trying to catch his breath. "Oh my God, I do not want to crush anything with rocks anymore. I won't even kill an ant—now that I know how it feels."

"What happened?" Tokiya asked, voice thick with worry.

Suzumi made a shushing noise, fussing with Kanpei's sleeve to check his injury. From the corner of her eyes, she caught Takuma's pale face, noting how his eyes nervously watched Kanpei and how his hands were trembling. He was kneeling next to her, his hands hovering like he was going to touch Kanpei but scared to injure him further. "O-oi… are you okay?"

Kanpei made a face, then winced as he took a breath and his chest inflated. "I'll throw rocks at you once this is over." He grunted when Suzumi lifted his left arm. "Ow-ow. Okay, I think I sprained it. Dammit, it hurts to just breathe."

Suzumi hissed when she finally rolled up Kanpei's sleeve to reveal his injury. "Oh my God, Kanpei-kun. Look at that bruise."

"Here, Kanpei-san," Tokiya was moving, and next to him, Kouji actually had a small pocketknife in his hand. Suzumi allowed herself a moment to admire Kouji's hand moved to deftly cut Kanpei's sleeve while Tokiya slowly lifted Kanpei's shirt off, revealing an ugly deep purple bruise plastering itself on Kanpei's chest. Next to her, Takuma sucked a sharp breath.

Suzumi winced at the sight. "We need to get you to the hospital."

Kanpei tried a manly shrug, but ended up grimacing with pain. "Ugh, I don't know. It's just a bruise, it'll heal overnight if I treat it right. I'm pretty sure my Mom still has those creams for bruises and sprained limbs."

"As I said," Kouji's voice was clipped but calm, something Takuma couldn't even begin to fathom. How did you stay calm when one of your friends was injured pretty bad like this? "You're having trouble breathing. We don't know if your ribs were bruised, or worse, cracked. Or worst, broken."

Kanpei glared. "Well, don't jinx it."

Kouji crossed his arms. "I'm just saying, you should back off this one battle." His sharp midnight eyes swiped back, taking both Suzumi and Takuma's figures critically. "What exactly happened?"

Suzumi wrung her hands. "There was another portal—"

"It was my fault."

She normally hated being cut off, but this time she was actually surprised. Even more so when she turned to find Takuma staring at the floor, face red and looking like he was about to cry. "It's—it's my fault. I was—deflecting an attack and it hit Kanpei instead—I didn't see him there, I swear."

Tokiya frowned. "But we're supposed to always know where each other are in a battle."

Those words only served to make Takuma looked even guiltier. Suzumi thought she recognized the self-deprecating look Takuma directed at the floor, one she had often worn herself when she looked in the mirror. Both his hands were still trembling; Suzumi noticed when Takuma slowly drew them into fists in a vain attempt to stop it.

"It's not just that," Kanpei huffed, shifting a little so he could rest his injured hand over his stomach. "Another portal opened, and another Gotsumon came out of it. It evolved—actually I think both of them evolved by the time we escaped." He flashed a questioning look at Suzumi, and she hastily nodded in confirmation.

Kouji's eyes narrowed. "Our target evolved, too. So we—" he took out his digivice, frowning at the three blinking dots on the screen. "We now have three Insekimon, and they're getting closer. We need a plan, fast."

Almost like Kouji's words were a cue, a deafening roar echoed down from the hallway, answered by another growl, and then another. Tokiya visibly paled, almost subconsciously burrowing himself closer to Kouji's side, and Suzumi bit her lower lip. If only Kouichi was there, he would know what to do. "What—what should we do?"

Almost inevitably, her gaze landed on Takuma, questioning. And she could literally feel the rest of them directing their gazes at Takuma, too. Takuma was their leader, after all, always had been. He'd been the one who convinced them to reach out and take the power their digivices brought, he'd been the one standing up first whenever a battle approach. It was hard not to look up at him, not to have expectations on him.

Takuma normally would have jumped at the slightest chance of leading them into battle, but this time, he recoiled.

"What?" he snapped back at them, and Suzumi could see how his whole body trembled. "I can't—I don't know, I have no plan whatsoever right now, okay, don't look at me like that!" A frustrated look flashed on his face, and he shoved a hand through his hair. "I'm thinking!"

"There must be a reason why those digimon evolve at the same time," Kouji said thoughtfully. "The portal—did it close properly? If not, there's always a possibility of another digimon coming out of it."

"It seemed like it closed," Suzumi answered, and started when another growl came bellowing. It sounded even closer, and she turned to Takuma. "Takuma-kun, what do you think?"

"I don't know!" Takuma was raising his hands now, burying his face onto them, trembling like a frightened child. "Don't ask me, I'm going to screw it up, I can't—even Kanpei got hurt! I'm no good, I can't do this—I can't lead, not like Kouichi does, I'm going to get everyone killed, Suzumi, I can't!"

"Takuma-oniisan," Tokiya spoke up, reaching out to touch Takuma's hand, but the older boy flinched and recoiled like he'd been burnt. The youngest of them started at that, hurt flashing clear on his face as he backpedaled, but he didn't stop his words. "It's okay. We know you can be reckless sometimes, but this is half an accident—right, Kanpei-san?"

"Yeah, buddy, it's not like you purposefully kicked that boulder to hit me," Kanpei muttered. "Don't be dumb."

Takuma shook his head, and Suzumi noticed the tensed set of his shoulder, the edge of hysteric in his movement, and the thick nervousness in his voice when he talked. Takuma was freaking out. "I should have known where you are—should have noticed. I wasn't leading, don't you get it? I was doing everything on my own, trying to get all the credits, doing stupid things, dragging you all into unnecessary danger—I can't. You can't let me. I'll get us killed this way, I know I will, and I can't—if any of you got injured or… or worse, because of me, I can't—" his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "I can't do this. I can't—I'm not good enough, Kouichi was right. I'm an idiot. I'm being obnoxious, I don't want everything to go well when I'm not there, because that means I'm not needed, and I hate that—I hate that. I hate that I hate it even more, but I can't—I can't do anything right, and even now any plan that I make would just get us killed, and there's—"

Her hand itched, that was the only possible explanation Suzumi could justify herself with, when her hand swung to slap Takuma, hard.

The sound echoed in the empty hall, and stunned silence followed that.

Takuma's jaw fell open, one hand raised to touch his right cheek where Suzumi had slapped him, turning a wide-eyed stare at her. She wrung her hands, uncertainty and fury warring on the expression on her face, but her eyes were unyielding, staring back straight into Takuma's brown eyes.

"Would you calm down," she said slowly, stressing each syllable. "Because we are not trying to tell you to make plans on your own. Calm. Down."

Takuma, dumbfounded and still wide-eyed, nodded.

"Wow," Kanpei breathed out in awe. "Remind me to never piss you off, Suzumi-chan."

Suzumi ignored the remark, keeping her eyes on Takuma. "You're our leader, Takuma-kun. Nothing changes that." Her hand found Takuma's trembling one, and rested on it in a reassuring manner, squeezing a little. "But you're going to calm down, and slow down, and we will figure this out together. No one is getting injured anymore, and Kanpei-kun will be fine. We're all going to be fine."

"That's right, Takuma-oniisan," Tokiya piped up, smiling softly. "We're all here, we'll figure out a plan. Together. That's what we do best together, right? Figuring out things?"

"Not everything is about you." Kanpei grumbled, using his foot to knock Takuma's knee. "You're our leader, your job is to lead. You've never been a good strategist anyway. Just—stop being reckless and doing unnecessary stuff that makes people worry if you're going to come out of this alive or not."

Takuma swallowed. "But I—if I screwed up again, I—"

"Then that's what happens. Everyone screws up, Takuma-kun. But that's why we're here." Suzumi smiled, squeezing Takuma's hand once again. "It's going to be fine. We'll cover for your mistakes, as we've always done, and you'll cover for ours. That's how it works, right?"

She drew her hand, and was quite surprised to see Koujis reaching out to tap Takuma's shoulder firmly.

"Get it together, Takuma." His gaze was solid, and by the way Takuma winced, Suzumi knew Kouji's fingers were digging into Takuma's shoulder. Kouji paused, eyes narrowing, like he was about to entrust something very important to Takuma, like this was a life-changing point.

Takuma opened his mouth, but closed it again at the look in Kouji's eyes.

"You're our leader." Kouji's voice was hard. "So get it together. You don't have to have the brains to make plans, but you need to keep us standing. You're the pillar. You have to keep it together when everything is falling apart. Got that?"

The silence then seemed to stretch out for so long, and Suzumi anxiously drew her arms around her own body, worried if this would really be Takuma's end of rope. She knew how it felt to be scared of screwing things up, the unbearable weight of being useless, the lump in your throat when you knew you'd be taking all these people down with you. Those feelings were distant when she had her digivice in hand, when she had Izumi lurking somewhere in her mind and she could talk to her, or when she had Fairymon's solid wings fluttering on her back. But without them, she knew best how it felt to be scared.

She watched Takuma swallow hard, watched his trembling hand rested itself on Kouji's, watched it curling around Kouji's wrist, gripping as if Kouji was his only lifeline, and watched him nodded shakily to himself. Once. Twice. Then thrice. She watched him slowly look up to swipe his gaze to all of them, and felt her smile grew at the newfound courage in those eyes.

"…I'll try my best." His voice was still trembling, and she could still hear a terrified note hiding there. "I just—if I screw this up—"

"You aren't going to, geez." Kanpei made an impatient gesture with his uninjured hand, rolling his eyes. "Now, are you still going to hate yourself in your emo corner? Because I think I've got an idea how to handle those three golems out there."

Suzumi was surprised to find small laughter escaping her throat, but it was fine. It was fine because Tokiya was grinning, and Kouji was rolling his eyes in the fond way of his she rarely saw, and Kanpei seemed to be a bit better, and Takuma—Takuma still looked scared, but the determined light that she'd come to associate with his gaze was back.

They were going to be fine.

-o0o-

When they moved out, leaving Kanpei to stay safe and hidden behind those huge props in the studio hall, Agunimon was absolutely terrified.

Takuya was silent in his head, and Agunimon didn't dare to even call out to him for fear that the mocking voice in his head would be the one answering, not Takuya's voice. So he kept silent, watched from a good distance as Chakkmon managed to divert the attention of one of Insekimon, and Wolfmon blasted of part of a wall to keep the other Insekimon from chasing Chakkmon. When Fairymon's cyclones hit it on the face almost immediately, throwing it back a good nine feet towards him, and Agunimon was ready. He rushed forward from his hiding place, eyes narrowed and focused, trying to ignore the clawing fear in his chest—

_I'm going to screw this up. No, I'm not—but—I can't—!_

He skittered around that Insekimon, arms shaking like it was his first battle all over again, and he let out a terrified scream as he dashed forward, locking his hands on Insekimon's shoulder and threw it on the floor, pinning it with his whole weight.

"Here we go, Agunimon!"

Chakkmon's voise was the cue, and Agunimon quickly leapt off the way before Insekimon could propel him aside. Almost instantly, the other Insekimon was thrown by a huge fist of ice, knocking into the Insekimon he was pinning down, and those two Digimon tumbled in a heavy heap of rocks. Wolfmon's Licht Seiger rained down upon both of them, and Chakkmon skated lightly towards them and froze the two Insekimon's feet to the floor.

"This isn't going to last," Chakkmon warned, face tight. "They're strong—they're even stronger—I can't—"

A loud explosion blasted off from somewhere behind him, and Agunimon felt his whole being froze in fear when Fairymon let out a painful shriek. He turned around just in time to see the butterfly-like Digimon crashed onto the wall, thrown effortlessly by the third Insekimon. Panic welled up in his chest; _it found us first, we can't take them one by one now, what am I going to do, I'm going to get everyone killed—_

'_Takuma-kun.'_

_I can't I can't I can't I can't—_

'_Takuma-kun, you can!'_

Chakkmon shouted in dismay as the two Insekimon they managed to pin down before broke free, and Wolfmon snatched him away just in time to avoid one Insekimon's hand swiping down at him. They skittered around towards the other side, and Agunimon gritted his teeth because those two now placed themselves between three Insekimon. Wolfmon looked up defiantly, sending out Licht Seiger almost before he skidded into a halt, and Chakkmon backed him up with his ice; but they were surrounded and the three ridiculously powerful Insekimon were rushing forward, forward, forward—

'_Protect them!'_

The battle cry that erupted from his throat surprised even himself, and before he knew it, Agunimon had already thrown himself towards the closest Insekimon, ducking under a punch before tackling it down. It went down with an outraged groan, and Wolfmon managed to push Chakkmon to skate into safety towards where Fairymon was sprawled on the floor. The other Insekimon were focusing on Agunimon now, furious at the Warrior of Fire as they charged with their rocks—but something inside Takuma hardened.

Something inside him burned.

Something inside him—

-o0o-

He could feel Takuya. Close—closer than he usually felt him, and Takuya was grinning unabashedly. There was no trace of the fear he previously felt, only the inexplicable desire to stand up and protect, to fight and win and make sure everyone was okay, to protect and to prove.

The fire inside him burned even brighter, warm and inviting and yet so powerful it was terrifying, and he felt his limbs tremble even as his arms slowly reached out, fingers tensed with anticipation. He could feel Takuya's pride, Takuya's courage, Takuya's own desire to protect people he knew nothing about and a history much older than himself it was staggering.

'_It's okay.'_ The other boy said simply. _'It's meant to be yours.'_

His fingers wrapped around the fire and the warmth, and power exploded inside him.

He screamed.

-o0o-

"Slide Evolution! Vritramon!"

The power he held was even more raw, threatening to slip out of his control if he so much lost his focus. He snarled viciously, grabbing a hold of the Insekimon under him to throw it back at the other two Insekimon, the strength of his throw sending them barreling backwards past where his friends stood, gaping at his transformation. He gritted his teeth—this was hard, harder to control, this insane power and animal instinct that threatened to take over his mind.

'_You're okay.'_

Takuya. Takuya was there—his presence a steady anchor.

'_You're okay, Takuma-kun. You can do this.'_

He could. Yes, he could.

Fire followed his movement like he was born into them, and he dashed forward, knocking aside a boulder thrown towards him and blasting back a powerful ball of fire. One of those Insekimon made a painful screech when he brought his leg to collide with its face, and for a second, a feral grin made its way to his face—_that's what you got for messing with my friends._

Blow after blow after blow; at some point, several Licht Seiger and Brezza Petalo rushed past him, aimed well at an attack that was about to hit him. He snarled, and the power inside him was coming out in waves, hitting his enemies in the form of flames and scorching heat. Turning around, he placed a destructive blow at Insekimon's feet and watched it tumbled down in satisfaction.

This was good. This power. He could do this. There was still fear—of losing his control, of turning into something that wasn't himself, turning into something that wasn't even human—but his friends were there. Takuya was there. He needed to protect. As long as he held steady to them, he would be fine.

He would protect.

"Agunimon, watch out!"

He was fast, but Insekimon was already swinging down at him, and he tensed, preparing himself for collision, but then—

"Endlich Meteor!"

One sphere of darkness spiraling into Insekimon, throwing him onto the floor, and Vritramon's head snapped up, eyes wide, to see Lowemon standing on the edge of a broken window.

'_Scan them, Takuma-kun.'_

Scan. Yes. The data were floating, shimmering around each Insekimon's body. He swallowed.

"Slide Evolution, Agunimon!"

Being Agunimon was a relief. It felt like home, like fully grasping the control he's always had over himself. The digivice was solid in his hand, pulsing with power, and he clutched at it hard.

It was over. He swiftly scanned the three Insekimon, leaving rubbles and scorching boulders behind.

-o0o-

Wolfmon couldn't take his eyes off the battle, just now. Even as Agunimon scanned those Insekimon, as the battle ended, and as Fairymon went back to fetch Kanpei, his mind reeled with shock.

_What the fuck was that? That wasn't Agunimon. Did he evolve?_

He let himself return into his human form when Agunimon de-evolve into Takuya, watching his friend fell ungracefully onto his bum, wheezing like he'd just run a marathon. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lowemon walking slowly closer, data swirling around his figure until it revealed Kouichi's much smaller, more slender form. The boy was smiling slightly, eyes bright and proud, and Kouji couldn't understand what it was about.

"Takuma-oniisan!" Tokiya—having de-evolved from Chakkmon—was the first to run towards Takuma's sprawled form. "That—that was great! That was awesome! What was that?!" He dropped onto his knees right next to Takuma, his grin falling for a worried frown. "Are—are you okay?"

Takuma's groan was the only answer. Kouji hesitantly stepped forward, letting his steps fall to join Tokiya and Takuma. He stopped when he could see Takuma clearly—no apparent injury, it seemed. He just looked exhausted.

"It's okay, Tokiya-kun," Kouichi's voice came, and he turned to see the other boy stepped up behind him. His lips thinned—Kouichi still kept his distance. It irritated him irrationally, but it wasn't like he had any reason to ask Kouichi to stop. He glanced aside, watching Fairymon came out of the hall with Kanpei in her arms, noticing the brightening expression Fairymon wore when Lowemon appeared just now.

"What exactly happened?" Kanpei demanded, looking pointedly at Kouichi. "Why are you back? Couldn't you have been back earlier—this was a huge trouble, Kouichi, huge!"

Kouichi offered him a smile—one Kouji hated because it seemed so distant. "Sorry, it took a bit longer than I thought. But you guys handled it very well; you were great just now, Takuma-kun."

Takuma grinned. "Aren't I?" He struggled to sit up, Tokiya pulling his hand to help as he did so. "Shit, it feels like I'm just run over by three trucks."

"Language, Takuma-kun," Fairymon chided, settling Kanpei down before turning back into her human form. Kouji could see amusement in her face though, and apparently so could Takuma, because he was grinning up. But the wielder of Spirit of Fire then sobered up, seriousness coming back to his gaze as he turned to Kouichi.

"Sorry for being reckless all the time."

Kouichi seemed astonished for a moment, but then his expression smoothed. "No, it's fine. It's just like Takuma-kun to be reckless. You're the type to confront everything head-on, anyway."

Takuma shook his head. "Yeah, but I was being an idiot. Obnoxious. Whatever word you prefer to use. I could've killed someone—and myself," he added when Suzumi opened her mouth to chide him. "And that's not a good thing. I—I understand now. What it means to be a leader. To stand up and protect everyone." He looked up again, this time meeting Kouji's stare. "It's just like you said, Kouji. I—really still have a long way to go."

Kouji cleared his throat, crossed his arm in a nonchalant manner. "I was just trying to snap you out of it. Though Suzumi did a better job slapping you."

Takuma laughed, voice raw with both exhaustion and emotion. "Yeah. Thanks for not punching me in the face." He leaned back on one of the boulder, putting a hand on Tokiya's head to ruffle his head. "I'm good, I'm good. I'm fine. That was—me. Vritramon. It was awesome."

Kouji narrowed his eyes. "It didn't seem like you." He said plainly. "It was… wilder. Like you almost have no control over yourself."

Takuma sighed. "The scary thing is that's actually true. I think." He raised a hand, and let out a laugh when he noticed them still trembling. "It was hard to control. Way harder than being Agunimon."

"Because it's your Beast Spirit," Kouichi explained, slowly sitting down on the floor. "It manifests the basest emotions and instinct of us. Like animals. It takes much more control over yourself, demands you to understand yourself better. But you managed to reach it, Takuma-kun," the smile on Kouichi's face was obviously proud. "That's great. You're one step forward."

The two of them exchanged smiles—and Kouji recognized the smiles with an odd sensation of envy. Kouichi's was both proud and glad, like Takuma had just lived up to his expectation, like he was putting his faith on Takuma reaching this point where he became stronger. Takuma's was both apologetic and thankful, like he was just glad he was able to meet Kouichi, and an unspoken promise to do his best from now on.

Kouji's lips thinned. He was irrationally envious—or jealous?—of them.

It wasn't fair that Takuma got to know his brother better than he did, right?

He shook his head. No, Kouichi wasn't anyone. He didn't have a brother, Kouichi was still a stranger. Takuma was a friend—just a friend. None of them understand. They were strangers, still, just strangers who happened to fight together. Survival forged bonds, but he couldn't let them in too close.

He didn't want to.

-o0o-

"_I bring ice cream!"_

_He stared at the brown-haired boy standing in front of his door—his mother's door, to be exact, but he'd come to acknowledged it as his home, too, anyway, so it didn't matter. The plastic bag jiggled before his face, its owner giving him the widest grin he'd ever seen. He sighed, leaning sideways onto the door. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Kouji, who's that?" the soft steps of his brother came from his back, and soon enough, another tuft of midnight hair poked from behind his shoulder. Their guest grin grew impossibly wider as surprise colored his brother's face. "Huh. Why are you here, Ta—"_

"_Because it's Sunday, so I come over to hang out with you?" their guest offered hastily, waving the plastic bag of ice cream on his hand. "Seriously, I even brought ice cream. It's your favorite, too."_

_He could feel rather than heard his brother's soft, exasperated, but fond sigh. "Not that. I mean—why aren't you at her place?"_

_The brunette's face turned indignant. "I don't want to be the guy who leaves his best friend to hook up with said best friend's ex-girlfriend two days after they break up, geez." He lowered the plastic bag, looking bothered. "I just, I really _am_ sorry, you know. I didn't mean to say it—"_

_His eyebrows rose elegantly, subconsciously letting his right hand moved back to find his brother's and held it firmly. "If you're about to say that you never meant it when you asked Niisan to break up because you're in love with her, I'm going to punch you so hard."_

"_But I _am_ sorry!" Oh, there was that infamous puppy face his best friend was known to often make, but had no effect on anyone. Except on his twin, maybe, because his twin was just too kind for this world. "Yeah, I admit I was thinking how nice it'd be if you guys break up because then I'd have a chance with her—to try and not screw it up, but. But I really didn't mean to blurt it out. I didn't mean to really make you break up with her, really sorry—"_

_His brother chuckled. "It's fine. Really. You don't have to apologize so much."_

"_But I do. I'm just so, so sorry, and you'll—God. Just—breaking up is never easy, I know that, so I'm really sorry about this. Just—tell me if there's anything I can do?"_

_He rolled his eyes. "There's nothing, you're just being ridiculous. Everything's fine, Taku—"_

"_Shut up, Kouji, I was just apologizing, why are you terrorizing me." His best friend gave him a deadpan look, and he would've laughed, really, except that tonight should be his night with his brother, and his best friend was delaying it. "I'm just, really, _really_ sorry."_

_His brother shifted, and he could tell he was getting a bit uncomfortable with the ceaseless apology. "It's really fine. She's always been in love with you, so the break up is inevitable." He smiled softly. "It was nice, but I wasn't being fair to her, either. I'm not sure if what I feel for her could match how much she likes you."_

_The brunette's face twisted, regret and uncertainty strewn all over his expression. "Sorry. I don't know about her feelings at all, really.I'm dumb like that. Sorry. I really didn't—just sorry."_

"_It's really okay."_

"_Yeah well, I'm still sor—_**ouch**_!"_

_His fist collided with the brunette's cheek hard—enough to leave a bruise, but not enough to crack his jaw. Kouji sniggered, reigning in his laugh as his brother sputtered behind him, and his best friend staggered back on his feet._

"_Kou—dammit what was _that_ for?!" the brunette shrieked, glaring viciously. "Ow-ow-ow, it hurts—I'm going to get back at you for this, Kouji, dammit!"_

"_You're being an idiot. I'm your best friend so I have the right to sock you one when you're being an idiot." He replied nonchalantly, ignoring the incredulous stare of both his brother and his best friend. He bent down to snatch the plastic bag of ice cream that the brunette had dropped on the floor when he punched him. "_Niisan_ told you to stop apologizing, so stop already."_

_His brother cleared his throat. "Kouji's right." Another smile, really, his twin was too good for this world. "I actually prefer you to go to her place right now, stop being a wimp and ask her out."_

_His best friend made a face like a wounded puppy. "But—"_

"_No buts. Thank you for the ice cream, now go away, we have movies to watch. Go get your girl." He made a shooing motion, feeling his lips twitch up when he heard his brother laughed and said goodbye to his best friend. The door swung shut on his back, and that was when he noticed that he was still holding his brother's hand. Amused, he looked down at their entwined hand, shaking his head._

"_What?" His brother blinked._

"_Nothing," He tightened his hold, before pulling his brother forward to drag him back towards to living room. "Let's go. I have six months of you ignoring me and indulging her instead to make up for—that's going to take some time."_

_There were laughter and warm, playful accusations afterward, and he'd never felt more content._

-o0oendofchapterseveno0o-

A/N: Alright, I'm hoping to post the next chapter in two weeks, if rl doesn't explode to a crazy thing. Also, yes, the last scene of this chapter is Kouji's memory over Kouichi and Izumi's break up that was mentioned in chapter four. Feel free to drop me aline if you have anything to ask!


	9. In the Spaces

Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance

Author: isumi'kivic'

Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi. Hints of one-sided OC-Kouichi and OC/OC because it's necessary for the plot.

Rating: Gen, I swear I'm keeping it gen. –forces down the KouKou fangirl inside-

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.

Warnings: Possible OOC-ness, grammar errors, and this chapter is basically a 5000++ words filler, sorry guys.

A/N: HA! So did you think I forgot about this fic?

Okay, so I kinda forgot about it because [K] was crazy and highly addictive (and distracting hngggh) but I didn't completely forget about this fic. I'm so sorry for not updating this for months, and I really can't promise you guys that I'd be able to update as fast as I used to be, seeing that I'm on my last semester at university and thesis and work usually eat my life, too. But I'll try my best, because I want this finished, because I want to give this story a proper ending.

Please enjoy, and reviews are appreciated. :D

**Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance**

_A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction_

**In the Spaces**

_There was a bright light._

_Screams. So many screams. It took him a moment to realize that he had been screaming, too. His body convulsed in pain, his throat burnt as the screech was ripped out of him. His body was changing—de-evolving, and no, that wasn't good. He couldn't afford to get back to his human form like this, he'd be killed, ripped off into pieces, and so would his friends._

_Then darkness. Pitch black, and something inside him exploded. He hollered, the pain was unbearable, like something was tearing him up from the inside and burning him from the outside. What little power he held slipped away, and suddenly the protective armors of Beowulfmon vanished completely. The pain stopped, but everything was spinning so fast, and he couldn't muster the energy to even look up, let alone pulling himself back to stand up._

_But he couldn't remain here. They couldn't. Lucemon would—the bastard would kill them off like this—and what would happen to the Digital World, then? They'd promised, they'd fought and struggled so far, just to fail here? No. He had to stand up, he had to._

_There were hazy voices, telling him to get up and run, and with a groan, he managed to pull himself into a fetal position, swallowing the pain lancing through his body. He opened his eyes, a glance to see all his friends scattered around him—two-three-four. His brother wasn't here. Where was his brother? Was he safe? Or did he—_

_Another bright light, and his body arched; he could barely recognized his own voice when he screamed. It was raw, and he felt like something inside him wanted to crawl out, skinning him alive in the process. Everything was burning, scorching hot, and pain was stabbing him on every inch of his body, and Kouji couldn't remember feeling in pain like this ever. Tears came unbiddingly, prickling his eyes, until his body stopped shuddering and the pain diminished slowly. He had to get up. No way he was going to die like this._

"_Kouichi!"_

_His head snapped up, and his whole existence froze._

_Because there was Lowemon, standing between the light and darkness, keeping the pitch black sphere from joining the light that enveloped Kouji and the others. No. No no no no no, that was stupid, why did Lowemon do that, no no no, that was too _dangerous_—_

"_Kouichi.." he breathed out, awed and terrified at the same time._

_He watched, as the sphere of light unbiddingly lifted from them to join the sphere of darkness, this time enveloping Lowemon like a womb. He couldn't move, couldn't close his eyes, couldn't cover his ears, like his whole being had simply frozen. There was no scream, no indication of pain, and Lowemon was looking up straight at Lucemon, and Kouji suddenly realized, something was wrong._

_Something had been wrong for a very long time._

"_I know now why I came to the Digital World…"_

_No._

"_Lucemon! You're not the only one who could use both the power of Light and Darkness!"_

_There was no scream, just a painful grunt as Lowemon looked back at them, and Kouji's breath hitched in his throat. There was determination in Lowemon's eyes, but that wasn't what sent a chill through his body. It was the sadness, unbearable resignation and acceptance that made something in Kouji's stomach sank, because this wasn't good._

"_Everyone… even though we haven't been together for very long…" A pause, and Kouji could literally hear his heart hammering in his chest. "..thank you."_

_No._

"_When I go back to the human world, I won't see you there."_

_The shock that statement brought made something in his chest clenched, and he gasped. The others did, too, and he heard someone's voice, tentative and scared: "…You won't..?"_

"_Everyone, please, protect our world!" Lowemon's gaze fell straight onto Kouji's, strong and unshakeable, voice leaving no room for hesitance or fear. Kouji felt his fingertips tremble, felt the slow crawl of terror in his chest as he let out a shaky whisper, "Kouichi…?"_

"_Most likely, I'm—" There was sadness, so intense and strong Kouji was dizzy from the sheer look in Kouichi's eyes. "I'm no more—"_

_Kouji couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. What did it mean? Why was his brother looking at him like it was a final farewell, like they wouldn't be able to beat Lucemon and meet again in the human world? Fear gripped his throat, tightening until he felt like he was going to choke. Denial welled up, because it couldn't be—there was no way Kouichi was—and the words blurted out of his tongue harshly: "It can't be—!"_

_The sphere cracked, and broke into pieces of data, revealing Kouichi's form. But it wasn't quite right, Kouji realized in trepidation, because the Spirits of Darkness was hovering on Kouichi's sides, and it wasn't Kouichi. It was Kouichi's spirit, glowing blue and bright and warm like the person he always was. He hovered down, gaze locked into Kouji's identical midnight eyes, and Kouji saw absolute trust in them._

_It terrified him._

"_Take them, Kouji," he said softly, and it felt so intimate Kouji wanted to sob. "The Spirit of Darkness."_

_The two spirits lurched down into Kouji's stretched arms, and he embraced them as they vanished into his chest. They were freezing, the exact opposite of the warmth of the Spirit of Light, and the cold sensation spread out quickly to envelope his whole being as he looked up, meeting Kouichi's eyes for the last time._

_No._

"_I'm glad I came to the Digital World." A small smile, unbelievably sad, yet thankful. Kouichi's voice shook, hundreds of unspoken emotions lining the words coming out of his mouth next. "I'm glad… that I met you."_

_Goodbye._

_It was a goodbye._

_Kouichi's spirit went hazy, and Kouji watched, transfixed, as his twin's form vanished into lines of data. He couldn't breathe, couldn't hear whatever it was Lucemon was saying, couldn't pay attention to how his friends went outraged, because the freezing Spirit of Darkness was clashing with his own Spirit of Light inside him, and it was excruciating._

_He had a second to shout his brother's name, full of grief and denial and fury, and then everything was a blazing pain. He could feel the Spirit of Light and Darkness slowly merged into one inside him, clashing and colliding and fighting for dominance, sparks of pain lancing through his whole being. He grit__t__ed his teeth, grunted out the three syllables that made his brother's name desperately, painfully. Then there was power, infinitely strong, as he felt both the Spirit inside him came together, joining into one entity he knew not the name, and he reached out to wrap his fingers around it, let his grief and anger fueled the lust for strength, to avenge, to make Lucemon pay—_

_Darkness. Light. Fire. Wind. Ice. Thunder._

_To do the very last thing Kouichi wanted them to do._

-o0o-

Something was ringing. And vibrating. And it was annoying.

Kouji growled from where he was hidden under his blanket. His blissfully warm and comfortable blanket. His mind was working too sluggishly, the remnants of his dream still nagging at the back of his head even as his hand reached out to take his phone. Killing off the visual feed—there was no way anyone would get a look at him and his bedhair, he had a dignity to maintain—he swiped his thumb on the smooth surface of his phone without glancing at the caller id.

"Hello." He grunted none-too-friendly.

"Kouji-san!"

It was Tokiya. Kouji blinked slowly, trying to ignore how his heart was beating too fast. He'd been dreaming. A nightmare of some sort—of Kouichi (who stil inexplicably appeard as his twin brother, that was just absurd) being scanned. He made a face, taking a deep breath, because it was just a dream, for god's sake. A glance at the clock told him he'd overslept: it was almost ten in the morning, and it was _freezing_.

"Since tomorrow is Christmas, we're all going to visit Kanpei-san in the hospital today!" the kid actually sounded excited about it. Kouji mentally groaned. "You're coming, right? Kouichi-san asked everyone to come; he wants to talk about what he found in the Digital World."

Kouji closed his eyes, concentrating on calming his still racing heart. There was an indescribable urge to see Kouichi right now, as stupid as it sounded. He knew it would help him calm down, even if he couldn't understand how. They were still avoiding each other; Kouji had caught Kouichi staring at him when they had followed Kanpei to the hospital after the battle yesterday, but the other boy had turned away once Kouji stared back. It was irritating, and for whatever reason, it unsettled him like the way his dream just now.

"Okay," he said in the end, and Tokiya's excited whoop made the corners of his lips twitched upwards. "I'll be there."

"See you then!"

Kouji dropped the phone onto his lap, mind already going back to his previous dream. What the hell was that, he wondered. The dream was so vivid; he'd actually woken up with a start and inexplicable fear gnawing at his throat. It was disconcerting, and confusing, and he hated feeling like that. And his heart still wouldn't calm down, despite knowing that Kouichi must be fine. Then what was that dream about?

A memory? Then it wasn't his. Just a dream? It felt too real and the fear nestling in his stomach unsettled him. Another flashback, that was what it was, he decided, irritated beyond reason that he was thinking too much about it.

With a mixed feelings churning inside him, Kouji got up slowly from the bed and made his way to the bathroom. He would just have to ignore it, like usual. After all, it was just a dream. It might not even mean anything, right?

Right?

-o0o-

Lowemon's presence somewhere at the back of his mind was comforting, even if Kouichi couldn't talk to him. The Warrior of Darkness was like a warm pulse, steady and calm and strong, reassuring him that he'd always had someone to hold on to for eternity.

It was frustrating not being able to talk to him, sometimes, but Kouichi was at least thankful to feel Lowemon's constant presence. It gave him an anchor, constantly reminding him that he was there not only as one of the Chosen Children, but a Spirit Wielder who had more experience than anybody else. It was a responsibility he couldn't afford to forget.

He only had a handful of good memories about hospitals, and the bad memories, sadly, outweighed them. If it weren'tfor the fact that Kanpei's injury had been a little worrying, he probably would have refused to go to the hospital, even if it was to visit an injured friend and teammate. The white walls and the overall sterile atmosphere for some reason only reminded him of deaths, and Kouichi had enough deaths in his long life, really.

The five of them huddled together before Kanpei's door; Tokiya reaching up to open the door just before the knob turned and the door opened. For a second, everyone merely blinked in surprise as two boys their age stood before them, looking equally surprised.

Behind the two boys, from the bed, Kanpei waved. The hovering screen before him flickered and blinked 'stand by'. "Hey you guys came! Awesome!"

"Oh, you're Mashiba-kun's friends, too?" one of the boys grinned, stepping aside to let the five of them in. Tokiya ran straight away towards Kanpei to give him a hug, Suzumi slowly making her way to the bedside table to put the flowers they brought into the vase, but the rest hung out on the door. Takuma was grinning back at the two boys.

"Yeah, We're Kanpei's friends. You guys go to the same school, huh?"

"We're class representatives, actually," the other boy answered rather politely, one foot already stepping out of the door. "Or at least, I am. He's just replacing our class' vice president. We were bringing Mashiba-kun his assignments."

"Heh, even when hospitalized you've still got to do homework, huh, Kanpei?" Takuma yelled over his shoulders, and was rewarded with Kanpei's loud snort. The two class representatives laughed along even as Kouichi stepped in and let the other boy stepped out.

"Well, we're going back, Mashiba-kun. Get well soon."

The door closed with a quiet thud that's masked by the excited laughter of the Chosen Children. Kouichi let his gaze linger on the door for a moment, before shuffling in to sit on the chair in the corner while the others cluttered around Kanper's bed. Tokiya was sitting on the bed now, chattering excitedly about his Christmas plans, and Suzumi was fussing with the flowers. Takuma was on the end of the bed, asking about hospital food, and Kouji was a silent entity by Kanpei's side, but Kouichi didn't miss the small smile that played on his lips.

Kouichi found his lips twitching upwards in a soft smile. He liked seeing everyone getting along well, liked seeing the strong bond between the children being forged through mundane things like this. It felt a bit sad, too, because he couldn't be a part of them simply because he couldn't afford to let himself be the only one left again.

It hurt too much the first time around. Kouichi wasn't sure he could get through that again.

"Kouichi-san," Tokiya called out, and Kouichi looked up from his seat on the corner of the room. "How was the Digital World doing? You went for quite some time, didn't you?"

"Oh," Kouichi said, because he'd only remembered and felt somewhat sheepish to have forgotten about it. But Takuma had been extremely nice to him the last few days—Kouichi guessing the boy was actually attempting to make an apology that counted—and having Takuma's company back in his daily lives felt very nice. Kazuma seemed more relaxed now that they were getting along again, too. "That reminds me. I have some things to tell you guys about it."

"The Digital World?" Takuma piped up in interest. The rest of the children visibly perked. The Digital World had always been an interesting and fascinating topic for them, having only heard stories about it from Kouichi and never actually coming there themselves. They would eventually, Kouichi thought, but that would be after they settled everything in the human world.

"There's nothing clear in the Digital World yet," he began, dragging his chair closer to the inner circle of the group. "The Three Angels and the rest of the Ten Warriors are still investigating. Seraphimon suspected there might be a virus going around, causing data abnormalities that unsealed the portals and turning lots of Digimon berserk. That's why their strength and speed are abnormal, that's why they're able to break through the barrier. They're trying to contain the virus—they've been purifying the infected Digimon on that side, too."

"Why am I imagining zombies..." Kanpei made a face. "I mean, that means those Three Angels or whatever—they could be infected by the virus, too, right?"

"There's a possibility, but the Three Angels combined, they have the strongest power in the whole Digital World." Kouichi paused. "That doesn't mean they could hold it by their own for a lot longer. In the end, we've got to go to the Digital World ourselves."

Suzumi brightened visibly. "Then why don't we go now?"

"If we left our world without sealing the portals from this side first, more Digimon would be able to go through and cause chaos. So that's what we've got to do first: sealing the portals from this side. Then we go to the Digital World and seal the other side."

A thoughtful silence descended for a few moments—each child carefully registered Kouichi's explanation in their minds. Kouji was the one who spoke up first: "How?"

"There are things about the portals in our world, too," Kouichi said, leaning forward and purposefully avoding Kouji's stare. "Kazuma-kun actually helped me to find out about this. Apparently, every single time a Digimon broke through the barrier, there are always errors on electronic devices around the area for no reason. I asked him to investigate it further, and we found out that there are actually more portals than we imagined."

"More portals?" Kanpei blinked. "But we've got all the Digimons whenever they broke through—"

"That's the thing. The portals don't always spout off Digimon. They're only opening and closing at random intervals, and causing disturbances on anything that used electric power. Especially devices connected to the internet or using satellite signals. When the portals aren't opening, they're just... there. Kind of like in stand-by mode. " Kouichi nodded to himself. "Kazuma-kun noticed that the portals would move to another area after a certain interval. He said he can predict their movements and opening time, so that's good news."

Takuma visibly puffed up with pride. "Yeah, my brother's a genius, after all!"

"He also has a complex over you," Kouji muttered under his breath.

Takuma scowled, crossing his arms across his chest, and snorted loudly. "I really don't wanna hear that from you of all people, Kouji!"

For a second, Kouji's face twisted into a horrible confusion, and Kouichi felt something in his stomach sink. He watched Kouji's eyebrows raise in perfect curves—uncomfortably familiar—as the other boy replied to Takuma; "What are you talking about, I don't even have a sibling."

Takuma started visibly, sputtered for a moment, then blinked and let confusion settle on his face. "Huh. Yeah—that's... that's right, you don't have any, huh?" he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head in his usual sheepish gesture. "Sorry. S'just that—well, Takuya..."

"I'm going to buy some drinks." Kouichi cut him off, standing so fast that the chair was nearly knocked back. He managed to snatch the back of the chair before it completely tipped to the back, though. "You guys... uh—want anything?"

There's a scramble of replies—juice and strawberry milk and soda and someone was asking where the toilet was—and Kouichi's mind was racing too fast he couldn't catch who is telling him what. Kouji was looking at him, intent and curious, and Kouichi thought he needed to get away from this room, fast.

"I'll go with you!" Suzumi said, brightly, but Kouichi could only give her a nod before he practically fled the room.

-o0o-

She had to gather all her courage to ask that one question.

"Kouichi-kun, have you ever been in love?"

Admittedly, now might not be the best time to ask him about this. Kouichi had this pinched look on his face when they left Kanpei's room; something was clearly weighing on his mind, and Suzumi couldn't imagine what that might be. But this might also be the only chance for her to get him alone, and she wasn't sure that she could muster up such courage to ask him some other time.

Kouichi bent down to take the fruit juice from the vending machine and looked up; his expression completely smoothed out now. Suzumi found herself admiring how well Kouichi could wear his mask, and hated that thought almost as soon as it'd manifested in her mind.

"Why do you ask?"

It wasn't fair how hard her heart thumped at the mere sight of his smile. "Nothing, just—" she wrung her hands, familiar anxiety settling on her shoulders like a blanket. "I just thought that we don't—you never told us much about yourself, Kouichi-kun. You know so much things—about the Digital World, and the digivices, and I just—it feels like you've been doing this whole Spirit Warrior thing for a much longer time."

Kouichi's gaze turned into amusement. "That's why you're asking me about love?"

"Th-that..." she stammered, mind already racing to placate the situation, feeling the familiar warmth on her cheeks. Her face was probably aflame right now. "I just—I want to know about you, Kouichi-kun. Your past, e-even if it's something as trivial as, you know, f-falling in l-love. You're so—secretive that I—I mean, we—_we_ worry, sometimes. I'm just not sure what I should ask you about—" she clamped a hand on her mouth, dropping her gaze to the floor bashfully. "I'm sorry. I sounded so forward, didn't I?"

"It's alright," Kouichi smiled. "It's been a while since I had someone worried about me not saying anything at all."

She perked up, raising her gaze at the exact time to catch Kouichi turning the milk carton in his hand over and over. There was a soft smile on his face, one that Suzumi couldn't quite interpret. It looked fond, but lonely and horribly sad at the same time. "Kouichi-kun?"

"I don't think I've ever been in love," Kouichi answered, a thoughtful look washing over his features. "It's either that, or I mimght have fallen in love with five people at the same time."

Suzumi felt her eyebrows taut in confusion. "Huh?"

"I don't think it's the same love that you're referring, but—" Kouichi smiled up at her. "The closest thing I've felt to falling in love is with—with the previous wielder of the Spirit of Wind."

_Izumi_, her mind whispered, because of course she knew. Of course it had been Izumi—she hadn't missed the fond look Lowemon would cast her when she was being Fairymon. There was that time, too, when she'd stood next to Kouichi after a battle and Kouichi had called her Izumi. But Izumi wasn't a wielder of the Spirit of Wind anymore—Suzumi was. If it was wielders of Spirit of Wind that Kouichi had affections for—

Her lips thinned;she couldn't quite describe the feelings bubbling in her chest now—there's confusion and disappointment, and yet, most of all hope still flared, and she really didn't understand—she only knew that it made her chest tight.

She reached deep inside to feel Izumi, but all she felt was an echoing sadness that she couldn't fathom.

"Um," she said, feeling proud of herself when her voice came out steady. "That—fruit juice. That's Takuma's right? I'll—I'll just. I'll go on ahead and bring it to him—I need to use the restroom anyway, so—"

She never finished that sentence, never tried to make it more coherent. She snatches the fruit juice in Kouichi's hand instead and crossed the hallway back towards Kanpei's room in long strides.

-o0o-

There was a boy standing before Kanpei's door when Tokiya came back from the toilet.

"Excuse me," he said, and the boy flinched, stumbling backwards clumsily before managing to hold his balance. Tokiya smiled up hesitantly, dropping his eyes to the boxes of chocolate and cookies in the other boy's hands before opening his mouth to speak again. "Um—are you here to visit Kanpei-san?"

"I'm—no—I'm—uhh—" the boy sputtered, darwing his posture inside in a self-conscious gesture. Tokiya noticed the way his hands trembled, and cocked his head aside. Maybe this boy is one of Kanpei's friend? Kanpei was popular in his school, after all.

The boy seemed to steel himself, now regarding Tokiya warily. "Are you—Kanpei's..."

"Yeah, I'm a friend." Tokiya smiled up reassuringly. "So you're here to visit, right? Why didn't you just come in?"

"I—" the boy faltered, visibly swallowing back whatever it was he was about to say. "No. I'm just. Here." He shoved the boxes in his arms into Tokiya's making the younger boy blink in confusion. "P-please give these to Kanpei. A-and tell him—just tell him that Hiroki hopes he get well soon."

Tokiya frowned. "But it's okay. It's still visiting hours, Hiroki-san..?" he said tentatively, and was encouraged when he got a nod. "We're visiting him right now, but we don't mind you joining in. Kanpei-san would be happy to see you, I'm sure."

The boy returned his smile, shy and hopeful. "Yeah, I'm sure he will. I just—I don't think I should. I'll come over another day, maybe. But—thank you."

He gave a deep bow, one that Tokiya returned with a deeper bow because he was younger, after all. Tokiya watched him until he vanished behind elevator doors, staring at the boxes of chocolate and cookies in his arms for a second before making his way into Kanpei's room.

Takuma was sitting cross-legged on the bed, now; his attention held by the handheld game console in Kanpei's hand. They turned at the sound of the door closing, though, and gave him a grin. "Welcome back!"

"Where's Kouji-san?" he asked, because he was pretty sure Kouji was here when he left for the toilet. He didn't see the long-haired boy anywhere in the room, though.

"He went out just after you did. Dunno where. What are those, Tokiya?" Kanpei wiggled his eyebrows as Tokiya put the boxes on the bedside table. His grin widened when he saw the box of chocolate, eyes alight like a kid on Christmas morning. "Oh, sweet, this is my favorite brand!"

"Hiroki-san came over and told me to give these to you. He told me to tell you get well soon, too." Tokiya leaned onto the side of the bed. "I told him it's okay if he wants to come in, but he refused."

"Huh, Hiroki's here?" Kanpei looked curious. "I thought nobody else from the school is coming."

Takuma frowned. "Huh? Shouldn't you be getting lots of visitors, Kanpei? You're one of the popular kids at school, right?"

Kanpei shrugged. "Dunno. They're probably busy with their own peer groups, the usual."

Takuma made a thoughtful noise. "What about _your_ peer group?"

"Hey now, Takuma. Being popular means you don't have one—you've got to be able to play with everyone, y'know."

Tokiya started, eyes widening at that. That was the last thing he'd expect to come out of Kanpei's mouth. "But Kanpei-san! Doesn't that mean you don't have any close friend?"

A finger came up to flick him in the forehead. Tokiya scowled up at Kanpei for that, but Kanpei was grinning. "What are you talking about? I've got you guys."

Tokiya knew an effort to change the subject when he saw one. "Yeah, but—"

"And that Hiroki kid?" Takuma was staring at Kanpei intently. "You guys aren't close? I mean, he came to visit you, so I assumed. Why aren't you guys close friends?"

And suddenly, Kanpei was avoiding Takuma's gaze. And Tokiya's, too. He looked like he was weighing his options—whether to answer or not, probably—until finally he looked down at his blanket and muttered something.

Tokiya blinked. "What was that, Kanpei-san?"

"I said," he repeated, sounding uncomfortable and uncertain. "Hiroki's nice and all, a good listener and fun to be with, but—well. I've told him no when he asked me to play with him several times. I mean, I've got—things—with other friends."

Takuma raised an eyebrow. "You mean with the more popular kids."

"W-well," Kanpei defended. "They're my friends, too."

Neither Takuma nor Tokiya could have answered that, because the door opened to reveal Suzumi, who strode in with a nervous, too loud laugh, telling them about how Kouichi couldn't operate the vending machine before tossing the fruit juice to Takuma.

Tokiya settled back into his seat, confused at the obvious discomfort on both Kanpei and Suzumi's shoulders, and wondered if being a teenager was a troublesome thing.

-o0o-

He saw Kouichi's finger swipe over the ice coffee icon when he said, "you should have told her off."

Kouichi visibly tensed, but then he bent down like nothing had happened, like Kouji hadn't just come out of the blue and chided him. When he straightened back up, all he said was: "What do you mean."

It wasn't even a question. Kouji scowled. He'd basically just told Kouichi that he'd heard the whole conversation between Kouichi and Suzumi, and the boy was still trying to dodge the topic. "You're giving her an empty hope, telling her things like that."

"I was only telling the truth," Kouichi answered, turning around to look at Kouji properly now. Kouji's scowl deepened, because he could practically see the mask slipping over Kouichi's face, smooth and perfect. He hated how that made him feel like Kouichi was miles away, like Kouichi was slipping off his hands, and he hated it more because he couldn't understand why.

He also hated the fact that Suzumi was the first person Kouichi ever told his past to.

"You really should tell her that you're not interested in her," he muttered. "You shouldn't have told her stuff like that."

Kouichi laughed. It rang odd in Kouji's ears, bitter and too sharp. "What is this about, Kouji." Again, that wasn't even a question. Kouichi sounded so exhausted, in fact, that Kouji for a second didn't know how to react. "You don't understand anything."

Anger flared as quick as Kouichi's words ended, burning through his chest and licking its way to his throat. Eyes narrowing, Kouji steps forward, closing the distance between them to shove Kouichi's shoulder. The short-haired boy didn't even try to fight back, letting himself being shoved back until his back hit the vending machine loudly.

He didn't even wince.

What the fuck, Kouji thought, livid. This person kept saying that they needed to get along, that they're all a team, playing best friends and making them bonds, but he was the one who distanced himself from the others more than anyone else.

"How would any of us ever understand you," he hissed, midnight blue eyes finding an identical gaze. "If you never so much as let us reach you?"

Kouichi closed his eyes, and when he opened it again, Kouji was surprised to see them naked; anger and restlessness and exhaustion thick in his gaze, but above all, was desperation that confused Kouji even more. It was the gaze of the old—the gaze of someone who had seen too much, had heard of too many.

He'd never seen Kouichi like this.

Then, softly—so soft that Kouji had to strain his ears in order to catch what he was saying—Kouichi murmured, "why do you care?"

His wall of defense slamming back up so fast that Kouji stumbled back, only barely managing to mask the hurt on his face with a scowl. "I—" he fumbled for words, dizzy with both confusion and irritation as he glared at Kouichi. "I don't know, okay? You're the only one who annoyed me so much—you kept popping up in my dreams, in my memories, and I'm not even sure if those are mine, and—rgh! Just stop messing with my memories, will you?"

He watched Kouichi's eyes go wide as the boy froze, mouth agape.

Kouji didn't wait for a reaction. He turned around and left.

-o0o-

"_You're dating her."_

_His twin fidgeted with the edge of the blanket. "We don't do anything different. Much."_

"_Except going out on dates and holding hands, yeah," he waved it off, looking at his brother incredulously. He was still miffed about it, though. "And you didn't even tell me that you liked her."_

"_I like all of you the same," his brother insisted, for what seemed to be a umpteenth time that night. He snorted at that, raising an eyebrow as he poked his brother's torso with his foot. They were a tangled mess on the couch right now, the TV blaring an ad of a soap opera while the noise their mother made in the kitchen washed over them. It was nice, having a weekend just for him and his brother, but with his brother getting himself a girlfriend, Kouji suspected this wouldn't last longer._

_His twin would have to divide his weekend time for her, too._

_He didn't usually mind. The team always met up whenever possible, always sparing time to catch a movie or dinner together, all six of them. But that's the thing: all six of them. He'd still get to hang out with his brother even when they were off with the other guys, but now his brother would be out without him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that._

_They'd been separated for twelve years. He still hadn't spent nearly enough time with his brother. Shouldn't he be a priority?_

_It was selfish, he realized, but his brother didn't seem to mind, the way he was laughing and swatting at Kouji's foot. He propped himself up with his arms, smirking. "You're a bad liar, Niisan."_

"_I'm not lying. I like all of you the same."_

"_Huh. Then you'd be okay dating any of us? Even Jun—"_

_He was cut off with a "Kouji!" and silky laughter that made his smirk grow wider. His brother was throwing him incredulous looks now, legs flailing as he tried to untangle himself from the blanket. He caught one foot, tapped his knuckles on it until his brother squirm, and then letting go before shuffling forward to look at his brother in the eyes._

"_If you hurt her, we're not going to forgive you."_

_A fond smile. "I know."_

"_If she hurts you, we're not going to forgive her either."_

_It sounded more like a promise, but as his brother hand squeezed his own, Kouji found that he wouldn't mind keeping such promise._

-o0ochaptereightendso0o-


End file.
